In my last post on the easiest way to get to Manhattan, we finished with a tour bus such as Yankee Trails or Wade Tours dropping us off at Bryant Park.

So  once we get there there, where do we go first? Well, how about the park itself? Click here for a great map of this area.  The first thing you may notice when you get off the bus is the small but beautiful structure that houses public restrooms.

In the winter, the park has a wide variety of things to do including shopping at temporary booths that are set up for the holidays, free ice skating  and drinking great hot chocolate at one of the four  ‘Wichcraft kiosks located on the grounds.

This summer, besides sitting on a bench while people watching or getting acclimated to your surroundings, there’s a series of free activities including a sport called Petanque on Mondays through Fridays 11am to 6pm. The Bryant Park website describes Pétanque as a French game of “boules” (French for balls), where each player strives to throw metal balls as close as possible to a smaller wooden ball, named the “cochonnet. ” Click here for a more detailed description of this sport.

For a full schedule of activities in the park, click here.