Spend a day in Hyde park

When King Henry VIII and his court were thundering across Hyde Park in 1536 in pursuit of deer and wild boar, it would have been difficult to visualize that years later the noble art of tai chi would be peacefully performed among the trees in the early morning, and the Italianate tenor of Pavarotti would echo across the park, applauded by vast audiences.

This vast city park, one of the greatest in the world, with a covering area of 1.420.000 m² (142 hectares / 350 acres) receives millions of visitors every year both Londoners & tourists, who make use of the countless picnic corners, roam through its ornamental gardens, relax by its huge Serpentine Lake or rent a paddle boat for lazy boating, grab a coffee or a beer at the Serpentine or the Lido Café while watching geese & other birds peck around the lake’s perimeter, hire a bicycle or sign up for a horseback riding lesson.

The highlights of the park include the Joy of Life Fountain, the massive Achilles statue built by the bronze of the cannons captured by Wellington in France and the Diana Memorial Fountain. There is also the chance to see Kensington Gardens & Palace where Diana lived or to the Serpentine Art Gallery renowned for its modern & contemporary exhibitions.

Head to the northeast corner of the Park towards the Speaker’s Corner, the free-speech zone created in 1872 & frequented by Karl Marx & George Orwell, or head to the northwest corner & explore the adjacent neighborhood of Notting Hill. Of course, there is always the choice of kicking back in one of the rented green & white striped folding chairs & just watching the relaxed faces of people & some of the luckiest dogs alive run around the meadow. More