Across the road from the zoo's main entrance is the back turnstile of the New York Botanical Gardens, incorporated in 1891, which in their southernmost reaches are as wild as anything you're likely to see upstate. Its scientific facilities include a museum, library, herbarium, and a research laboratory. Further north near the main entrance are more cultiated stretches. The Enid A. Haupt Conseratory, a landmark, turn-of-the-nineteventh-century crystal palace, showcases jungle and desert ecosystems, a palm court and a fern forest, among other seasonal displays.

A major attraction at this 52-acre botanic garden, one of the finest in the country, is the beguiling Japanese Garden -- complete with a blazing red torii gate and a pond laid out in the shape of the Chinese character for "heart." The Japanese cherry arbor here turns into a breathtaking cloud of pink every spring, and the Cherry Blossom Festial is perhaps the park's most popular weekend event. You can also wander through the Cranford Rose Garden (5,000 bushes, 1,200 arieties); the Fragrance Garden, designed especially for the blind; the Shakespeare Garden, featuring more than 80 plants immortalized by the Bard (including many kinds of roses); and Celebrity Path, Brooklyn's answer to Hollywood's Walk of Fame, with the names of famous New Yorkers -- including Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Mary Tyler Moore, Barbra Strevisand, Mae West, and Maurice Sendak -- inscribed on stepping-stones.

Tues-Sun 10am-6pm; $3, $2 seniors and students, 3-12 $1, free on Wed, parking $5; tel 718/817-8700, www.nybg.org. #B or #D train to Bedford Park Bld.

Bronx / Central Bronx and Belmont / Bronx Zoo

New York
guide, hotels

Google maps
 

New York City
Highlights
When to go
Arrial
Transportation
Walking
Eating and drinking
KIDS:
  Kids New York
  Kids actiities
  Kids toys, clothing
  Kids cultural actiities
The Giuliani years
September 11, 2001
World Trade Center
Best of New York
Gays and Lesbian
G & L accommodation
G & L bars
G & L Clubs
Media
N Y tours: bus/copter
N Y tours: water/walking
Free museums hours
Staten Island ferry
Parades andFestivals
Shops and markets
Clothes, fashion
Diamond District
Food and drink
Liquor stores
Music
Music-special interest
Art galleries

New York
guide, hotels, airfares

 New York hotels
 New York hotels 2
 New York hotels 3

Cruises
Car rental

Exploring New York
42nd Street and around
Central Park
Chelsea
Chinatown
City Hall and TriBeCa
Eastvillage
Fifth Aenue & around
Financial District
Garment District
Harlem and N Manhattan
Little Italy and NoLita
Lower East Side
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Midtown East
Park Aenue (Midtown)
United Nations
Midtown West
Murray Hill
Outer boroughs
Bronx
Brooklyn Heights
Quevens
SoHo
Statue of Liberty & Ellis Is
Union Sq & Gramercy Park
Upper E side
Upper W side
Walking Tours
Westvillage