Most of New York’s museums and art galleries have closed, but the city remains full of aesthetic destinations that can be experienced outdoors and alone. While we’re all facing a lot more time apart from one another, I’ve been thinking back to the long, solitary walks I used to take, and the monuments, buildings and public art works that served me as both friends and destinations. Whether I was living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan or in the other boroughs, there was always some interesting sight nearby to occasion a reflective journey.

In the early days of the pandemic, a friend sent me a sermon that C.S. Lewis preached to incoming Oxford scholars in 1939. In it, Lewis argues that catastrophes like war only make more obvious the permanent human condition, which is to live in the shadow of certain death. But he also suggests that the attention we devote to cultural pursuits in spite of that shadow is exactly what makes us human.

As we navigate these challenging times, I’ve been reflecting on some of the treasures and small delights that inhabit our collective urban backyard. These are places to go for a reprieve from the increasingly dire news alerts or just a break from your new home office — but please, if you do, maintain your social distance.