Must-visit parks in London

With its theatres, restaurants, pubs, museums, galleries and parks London is considered to be a magnet for visitors and a well-placed launching pad for much of what the city has offer.

St James Park. It is the oldest Royal Park in London.This is a charming parkland area in the heart of London bordered by Buckingham Palace to the west. In Summer, office workers sunbathe in between the flowerbeds of the capitals most ornamental park. In winter , the sunbathers are replaced with overcoated civil servants discussing affairs of state as they stroll by the lake, eyed by its resident ducks, geese and pelicans.

It is a hugely popular place to escape the city’s hustle and bustle, with an appealing view of Buckingham Palace, a café , which is open daily, and attractive lake.

Hyde Park covers 142 hectares , that making it the largest park in central London. It is the city’s most important green lung and where many tourists and residents come to relax and enjoy a bit of fresh air. The ancient manor of Hyde was part of the lands of Westminster Abbey seized by Henry VIII at the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536. James I opened Hyde Park to the public in the early 17^thcentury, and it was soon one of the city’s most fashionable public spaces.

South of the Serpentine is the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. The park is also rallying point for political demonstrations, while at Speaker’s Corner, in the northeast, anyone has had the legal right to address the public since 1872. Sundays are particularly lively, with many budding orators.

Regent’s Park is One of London's most popular park, and is a definite favourite among locals. This land became enclosed as a park in 1812. Designer John Nash originally envisaged a kind of garden suburb, with 56 villas and a pleasure palace for the Prince Regent. In the event only eight villas were built.

The boating lake has many varieties of water birds and is a marvelously romantic. Queen Mary’s Gardens are a mass of wonderful sights and smells in summer, when visitors can also enjoy performances at the Open Air theatre nearby. The park is also the site for amateur sports leagues and competitions, and the home of ZSL London Zoo, a major research and conservation center. Opened in 1828, the zoo houses more than 600 species, including Sumatran tigers and Asiatic lions.