Season: Summer,
weather permitting Rental Location: Loeb Boathouse daily Weekdays: 5:00pm to 9:00pm Weekends: 2:00pm to 10:00pm Rate: $30 per half hour Capacity: Up to six people per boat
Reservations required (212) 517-2233
Central Park has
its own authentic handcrafted
gondola straight from the canals of Venice.
Called "La Fia de Venezia," the daughter of
Venice, it is a 37-foot gondola imported from
that venerable city and donated to the
Park Conservancy by New York City
philanthropist Lucy Moses.
The sleek black craft was inaugurated into
the waters of the Lake in May 1986 and has
been a tremendous attraction and a source of
continued astonishment ever since.
Originally introduced in 1862 and manned by
authentic Venetian gondoliers a Park visitor
could hire one to pole them around the Lake
while being serenaded to the then popular
tunes from the operas of Puccini and Verdi.
If you like "O Solo Mio," this modern gondolier
might be the one for you.
