VIBE

Relaxing vibe, especially if you can snag a deckchair near The Serpentine (or elsewhere in the park)–they’re available April-September during daylight hours, weather permitting. With tons of green space, it’s a perfect place to gather with friends or just unwind by yourself.

GO HERE WITH

Friends for a picnic; kids to play and sit at the duck pond; yourself to read or sleep.

WHY WE LIKE IT

It is a verdant oasis in the midst of busy London. We also dig the variety of different landscapes, from the duck pond and the grassy knolls to the manicured Rose Garden. The conspicuous Mounted Police completes the sense of place–this is British turf.

WHAT WE WOULD CHANGE

A few more maps would be helpful for the directionally challenged (like us!).

GOOD TO KNOW

Speakers’ Corner, in the northeast of the park, has been a symbol of free of speech since 1872. The island in the Serpentine is Bird Island, where Peter Pan was supposed to have lived after he flew away from home when he was just a baby.

CLOSEST COMPS

Regent's Park (London); Central Park (New York)

Click here for our full-form mobile travel guide, The Purple Passport to London