The famed city’s public area is known for picnics, concerts, jogging, boating and other fun activities. In addition, visitors can enjoy its many statues. They include famous people, dogs, cats and fairy tale figures.

A seated figure of Danish children’s author Hans Christian Andersen reads a story to a duck standing at his feet. This reminds children of all ages of his famous ugly duckling, who matured into a beautiful swan.

Pause to view England’s Sir Walter Scott and Scotland’s Robert Burns, as well as William Shakespeare. They remind visitors of the great contributions by Great Britain’s authors to American literary heritage. The 107th Infantry Memorial statue depicts a group of five World War I members of the New York National Guard during one of the unit’s many battles. Four of the unit's soldiers were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for bravery.

Another is an Alaskan sled dog named Balto. He’s honored for leading teams over 600 miles through a bitter snowstorm in the winter of 1925 to deliver lifesaving medicines to diphtheria victims in Nome.

No trip to Central Park with kids (and grown-up kids) would be complete without visiting Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. She sits on a giant mushroom next to the White Rabbit, who holds out his pocket watch to her. Behind is the grinning Cheshire cat. The Mad Hatter and dormouse make up the rest of the delightful grouping.

There are many, many more sculptures in Central Park, and each is worth a pause in appreciation.