Hyde Park & Kensington Gardens

Once a favorite deer-hunting ground of Henry VIII, Hyde Park is central London's largest park. With the adjoining Kensington Gardens it forms a single giant open space, made up of 246 hectares (608 acres) of velvety lawns interspersed with ponds, flowerbeds, and trees. The two parks are divided by a 17-hectare (42-acre) lake known as the Serpentine. Paddleboats and rowboats can be rented from the boathouse (open Mar-Oct) on the north side (tel. 020/7262-1330) costing £9 per hour for adults, £3 per hour for children. Part of the Serpentine has also been set aside for use as a lido, where you can swim, provided you don't mind the often rather challenging water temperature.

Near the Serpentine bridge is the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, the somewhat (perhaps appropriately) troubled monument to the late princess. When first opened in 2004, its slippery granite surfaces proved singularly unsuited for something intended as a swimming and paddling venue, leading to its almost instant closure. It was later reopened, but you're no longer allowed to swim, although you can put your hands and feet into the fountain.

At the northeastern tip of Hyde Park, near Marble Arch, is Speakers Corner, where people have the right to speak (and more often shout) about any subject that takes their fancy. In the past you might have heard Karl Marx, Lenin, or George Orwell trying to convert the masses; today's speakers tend to be less well known, if no less fervent, and heckling is all part of the fun.

Blending with Hyde Park to the west of the Serpentine, and bordering the grounds of Kensington Palace , are the well-manicured Kensington Gardens. Here you can find numerous attractions including the Serpentine Gallery, a famous statue of Peter Pan erected by J. M. Barrie himself (secretly, in the middle of the night), and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground, a pirate-themed fun area that has proved a more successful tribute to the late Princess of Wales than Hyde Park's fountain. At the park's southern edge is the Albert Memorial, a gloriously over-the-top, gilded monument erected by Queen Victoria in honor of her late husband.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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