St James Park: green year-round

Take a couple of steps into any London park and it’s easy to forget that you’re in one of the largest, most global cities in the world. After seeing the lights at Piccadilly Circus and shopping along Oxford Street and the world’s richest square mile, all visitors arriving on flights to London should get off the streets and enjoy the city’s top 5 beautiful green spaces.

Kensington Gardens: Hyde Park eats the lunch of neighboring Kensington Gardens, with most people not knowing the two have been formally separated since the 1700s. The park features details characteristic of the eighteenth century – round ponds, sunken gardens and beautiful bridges. Grab lunch at The Orangery in Kensington Palace, view works of modern art in the Serpentine Gallery and see what’s on at the Royal Albert Hall.

St. James Park: Stop off at the northern end of the park along Horse Guards Road for a great photo opportunity at the Horse Guards Parade with the London Eye in the background. The oldest of the Royal Parks, St James has been remodeled numerous times since the 1500s to take on the shape it has today – winding paths with beautiful views of Buckingham Palace across a stunningly landscaped natural lake.

Primrose Hill: Located in one of the most exclusive areas in London, Primrose Hill is often overlooked for the more famous Regent’s Park to the south. Visitors to the London Zoo (in Regent’s Park) should head north to Primrose Hill – the best place in the city for views of central London or a sunset on a clear day.

Greenwich Park: Home to famous royals for the past five hundred years, Greenwich Park is both a step outside the city and into the past. Take in the views of London from The Royal Observatory, stand on the Prime Meridian and visit the National Maritime Museum.

Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew: A short train ride outside central London, Kew Gardens has been immortalized in the works of authors like Virginia Woolf. The park's beautiful landscaping and world-renown glasshouses rival botanical gardens across the world. A feature of the park is Kew Palace – the Dutch architecture and interior decorations of which have been beautifully restored.

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Photo Credit: Nick Papa (author)