Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens
Two hundred and fifty hectares, the Serpentine, and Speakers' Corner on Sunday.
Duration
1 hr – 2 hrs 30 min
Best time
Mornings, or Sunday morning
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
Hyde Park was taken from Westminster Abbey by Henry VIII in 1536 for deer hunting, and opened to the public in 1637. With Kensington Gardens, separated from it in 1728, it makes up two hundred and fifty hectares in the middle of the city.
The Serpentine, dug in 1730, is rowed on and swum in all year within a supervised area. Speakers' Corner, at the north-east angle, is an open-air right of speech recognised since 1872: anyone may stand on a box there and talk.
Getting there
Tube to Hyde Park Corner, Marble Arch or Lancaster Gate depending on which corner you want. The park has many gates, all free.
What to bring
- Swimsuit
Rules on site
Speakers' Corner is only worth the trip on Sunday morning; there is nobody there the rest of the week. The park closes at midnight and reopens at five.
Other places in London
British MuseumThe Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon frieze and eight million objects — free of charge.
Tower of LondonNine centuries of fortress, prison and Crown Jewels.
Borough MarketA thousand years of food market under the railway arches.
Camden TownThe locks, the stalls and what is left of punk London.