Leisure

Hyde Park

Hyde Park is an enormous green haven in the middle of the city and it’s great for a bit of rest and relaxation. Enter at Hyde Park Corner, where you’ll see the Wellington Arch, built to commemorate Wellington’s victories over Napoleon, and Apsley House, where Wellington once lived. It’s now a museum with some interesting works of art.

In the park itself there’s a playground, an educational wildlife centre, snack stalls, cafes, tennis courts, putting green, boating pond and horse riding arena. Informal sports such as football, rugby, cycling and rollerblading are permitted.

The Serpentine Lake cuts through the middle of the park, which has a great lido for leisure activities and a gallery showing contemporary art exhibitions.

Diana Princess of Wales lived in Kensington Palace, in the Kensington Gardens area of Hyde Park, after her separation from Prince Charles. In 2004 the Queen unveiled a memorial to the well loved princess – a large water sculpture and fountain.  

Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew

This large garden was founded in the mid 18th century and has over 50,000 species of plants and shrubs. There are some wonderfully ornate glasshouses and pagodas in the beautifully landscaped gardens and plantations and it would be easy to spend all day here. The visitor facilities and attractions include restaurants, cafes, gift shops, museums, educational areas and historic buildings.

Regent’s Park and London Zoo

This stunning green space in the north of the city is home to London Zoo. Originally founded as a centre for science and research in 1828, it was the first zoo of its type in the world and it’s still dedicated to conservation, science and learning. It boasts many other world firsts – the insect house, reptile house, aquarium and children’s zoo were also the earliest examples of their kind. The current collection of mammals, birds, insects, reptiles, fish and amphibians is vast and exciting.