NYC Bike Tour Guide
10 Historic NYC Landmarks
You Can Visit by Bike.
From Bow Bridge to the Brooklyn Bridge — a local's guide to the iconic landmarks waiting just minutes from our shop at 873 7th Avenue.
From Bow Bridge to the Brooklyn Bridge — a local's guide to the iconic landmarks waiting just minutes from our shop at 873 7th Avenue.
New York City was made for two wheels. The bike paths in Central Park were laid out in the 1860s — when the only "traffic" was horse-drawn carriages. Today those same paths take you past Bow Bridge, Bethesda Terrace, and Strawberry Fields, all within a 6-mile loop.
From our shop at 873 7th Avenue, you're four minutes from Central Park's south entrance and ten minutes from Times Square. From there, the rest of the city opens up: the Brooklyn Bridge (5.4 miles), the High Line (12 minutes), Hudson Yards, DUMBO, and the Hudson River Greenway running uninterrupted for 11 miles up the West Side.
This guide is what we tell our customers when they ask "where should I ride?". Each landmark below comes with the actual route from our door, the historical context that makes it worth the visit, and our local picks for the best time of day to be there.
One thing to know up front: renting from Astra Bike isn't a tour — it's a rental. You ride at your own pace. We hand you a paper map with all 10 landmarks marked, and you decide which ones to chase. Most of our customers do 3–5 landmarks in a half-day.
Distances measured from 873 7th Avenue, Midtown Manhattan. Colored by neighborhood.
Click any landmark for the full guide: history, route, photo spots, and best hour to ride.
The "Imagine" mosaic, dedicated October 9, 1985 — what would have been John Lennon's 45th birthday. Mosaic gifted by Naples, Italy.
Read the full guide →A cathedral-like quarter-mile lined with one of the largest stands of American elm trees in North America — roughly 150 of them, planted in the 1860s.
Read the full guide →The "Angel of the Waters" statue (1873) was the first major NYC public art commission given to a woman — sculptor Emma Stebbins. The Minton tile ceiling underneath has 15,876 tiles.
Read the full guide →A 60-foot cast-iron bridge from 1862 designed by Calvert Vaux — the most-filmed bridge in Central Park. Crosses The Lake between Cherry Hill and the Ramble.
Read the full guide →Calvert Vaux's 1869 stone folly atop Vista Rock. Houses the official NYC weather station since 1919 — when New York's temperature is on the news, it's measured here.
Read the full guide →
Originally Longacre Square, renamed in 1904 when the New York Times moved its HQ here. The pedestrian plaza we know today was created in 2009 — perfect for bike photos.
Read the Midtown guide →The Vessel (controversially closed), the Edge observation deck, and Heatherwick's floating Little Island park (2021). The newest skyline in NYC.
Read the full guide →An abandoned 1934 freight rail line that ran its last train in 1980 (carrying frozen turkeys) and reopened as a 1.45-mile elevated park in 2009. Note: walk only — bike racks at every entrance.
Read the full guide →
John A. Roebling's 1883 masterpiece — at completion, the world's longest suspension bridge. Designed to be six times stronger than necessary. Bike lane separated from pedestrians since 2021.
Read the full guide →
Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. The famous Washington Street view of Manhattan Bridge framed by 19th-century warehouses — most-photographed corner in Brooklyn.
Read the full guide →The pillar guide above gives you the overview. Below, the long-form chapters with everything you need to ride well.
Bikes from $18/hour. E-bikes from $25/hour. Helmet, lock, and lights always included. Open 8 AM–11 PM, every day of the year.