Green Park
just grass, trees and peace
The plainest and most peaceful Royal Park, free, a great sweep of grass and old trees between Buckingham Palace and Piccadilly, made for lying under a tree and doing nothing.
Free to visit · Mayfair · Green Park · SW1A 1BW
Opening: Daily 5am–midnight
Green Park is the odd one out among the Royal Parks. It has no lake, no flowerbeds and no statues to speak of, just fifty-three acres of grass and mature trees, and that emptiness is exactly the point. It is the great green breathing space between the traffic of Piccadilly and the pomp of Buckingham Palace.
The story goes it was kept deliberately plain, with no flowers, after a queen took offence at her husband picking blooms here for another woman. True or not, what you get is a calm, simple park made for lying on the grass, reading or dozing, which Londoners do in their thousands the moment the sun comes out.
It joins straight onto St James's Park and the forecourt of Buckingham Palace, so it is the perfect free green link in a walk between the West End and Westminster. In spring it turns gold with wild daffodils under the planes.
Getting there: Green Park station sits right on it, between Hyde Park Corner and Piccadilly, joining St James's Park by Buckingham Palace.
Best time to go: A sunny lunchtime to lie under the trees, or spring when the whole park fills with wild daffodils.
Insider tip: Use it as the quiet approach to Buckingham Palace. Walk the tree-lined path down the middle and you arrive at the palace gates having strolled through proper calm, rather than fighting the crowds along the main roads.
Official site: https://www.royalparks.org.uk/visit/parks/green-park
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide