London has a lot of green and open space. In fact, the city has 1,700 parks in an area of around 70 square miles. Did you know? It's possible to walk from the Houses of Parliament to Olympia, a distance of 3 miles, through parkland alone. Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Green Park and St. James' park form an unbroken line of greenery making this possible.

The most popular London Parks are:

Hyde Park

Hyde Park is the most prominent and famous London park. It was once part of a wild and ancient forest, inhabited by wolves, wild bulls and boar. It was fenced off as a royal deer park in Tudor times, and later open to the public.

It consists of 360 acres. In summer time there is option of renting a small boat and gently paddling in the Serpentine boating lake, having refreshing drink or maybe fishing in certain allocated places.

The famous Speakers Corner, where you can let your soul out and scream at the whole world or have normal debate with strangers about topics that interest you, is part of the park. Another section of the park is Kensington Gardens where you can see Kensington Palace.

Nearby Attractions

Science Museum
Oxford Street

Kensington Gardens

Kensington Gardens were created for William III, who lived at Kensington Palace. The palace is still used by the Royal family. You can visit part of it. Diana, Princess of Wales lived there.

In Kensington Gardens there is a statue of Peter Pan and The Diana, Princess of Wales, Memorial Playground.

Nearby Attractions

Royal Albert Hall
Natural History Museum

Green Park

Green Park has a grand entrance facing Queen Victoria's memorial outside Buckingham Palace. This entrance is called Canada Gate. There is a memorial to Canadians who died in the two World Wars nearby.

Green Park is known for its tree lined avenues such as the Broad Walk and the Queen's Walk, which dates back to 1730.

Nearby Attractions

Buckingham Palace
St James's Palace

St. James's Park

St James's Park was once King Henry VIII's private Royal hunting ground, encircled by a high brick wall. His luxurious hunting lodge survives as St James's Palace.

St James's Park has a large lake with an island in the middle. It is famous for the variety of ducks and geese and other birds which live on the lake. If you look across the lake, you can see the government offices of Whitehall in the distance.

St James's Park is surrounded by three Royal Palaces. Its elegant grounds are the setting for many ceremonial parades.

Nearby Attractions

National Portrait Gallery
London Eye

Regent's Park

Regent's Park is situated in northwest London. It was originally a royal hunting forest. It was landscaped by John Nash in the 1820s for the Royal Regent (later George the fourth). He surrounded it with elegant terraced houses, which you can still see today.

Inside the park is boating lake where you can rent a boat and enjoy the beautifully cultivated flowers. The Park is also home to London Zoo.

Nearby Attractions

London Planetarium and
Madame Tussaud's

Greenwich Park

The Park is most famous for being bisected by the Greenwich meridian - the line to which time across the globe is referenced. Several historic buildings are in the park, including the Old Royal Observatory, the Royal Naval College and the National Maritime Museum

Nearby Attractions

Cutty Sark
Greenwich Market

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