London is one of the greenest big cities in the world: almost half of its area is taken up by parks, gardens, heaths, tree-lined cemeteries and waterways. Londoners use their parks all year round, for running, picnics, reading in the first spring sunshine or walking the dog in the rain. Here are the finest.
The royal parks
Eight large parks belong to the Crown and are managed by the Royal Parks charity. They were royal hunting grounds, later opened to the public.
- Hyde Park: 140 hectares in the heart of the city, with the Serpentine lake where in summer you can swim and go boating, the Diana Memorial Fountain and Speakers' Corner, where anyone can stand on a box and speak in public. In summer it hosts big concerts, in winter the Winter Wonderland Christmas fair.
- Kensington Gardens: Hyde Park's westward continuation, with Kensington Palace, the Peter Pan statue, the Albert Memorial and the Serpentine Gallery.
- St James's Park: the oldest and most picturesque, between Buckingham Palace and Whitehall, with its lake home to pelicans, residents since the 17th century, and the view of the palace from the blue bridge.
- Green Park: a large tree-lined meadow without flowerbeds, next to Buckingham Palace.
- Regent's Park: designed by John Nash in the early 19th century, with Queen Mary's rose gardens, an open-air theatre, London Zoo and, to the north, Primrose Hill, with one of the best views of the skyline.
- Greenwich Park: on the hill of the Royal Observatory, with the meridian and views over Canary Wharf and the Thames.
- Richmond Park: the largest, over 900 hectares of woods and grassland, where some 600 red and fallow deer roam free.
- Bushy Park, next to Hampton Court, also with free-roaming deer.
Heaths and gardens
- Hampstead Heath: a vast hilly heath in north London, with swimming ponds (men's, women's and mixed), Kenwood House with free-to-see paintings by Rembrandt and Vermeer, and the view from Parliament Hill.
- Kew Gardens: the Royal Botanic Gardens, a UNESCO site, with Victorian glasshouses such as the Palm House and Temperate House, the pagoda and a treetop walkway. Paid, reachable by Underground.
- Chelsea Physic Garden: a garden of medicinal plants founded in 1673.
- Postman's Park and the many small hidden gardens of the City, perfect for a break.
Canals and cemeteries
The Regent's Canal crosses the north of the city from Little Venice to Camden and on to the east: along the towpath you can walk or cycle past houseboats, markets and bars. Highgate Cemetery, with its ivy-covered Victorian tombs and the grave of Karl Marx, is one of London's most atmospheric places.
Tips
Parks are free and generally open from dawn to dusk or until midnight. The paid deckchairs of Hyde Park and Green Park are a small summer institution. For children, the playgrounds of Kensington Gardens and Regent's Park are among the best in the city. See also the neighbourhoods, London on a budget and the London guide.