london's grandest rose garden, for nothing
A grand Royal Park with the largest rose garden in London, free, plus tree-lined avenues, a boating lake and a straight path up to the skyline view from Primrose Hill.
Free to visit · Marylebone · Regent's Park · NW1 4NR
Opening: Daily · 5am to dusk
Regent's Park is the most formal and stately of the Royal Parks, laid out by John Nash as part of a grand plan for the Prince Regent, and all of it is free to wander. Wide avenues, fountains and flowerbeds give it the feel of a country estate dropped into north London.
Its glory is Queen Mary's Gardens at the centre, home to London's largest rose collection, around twelve thousand roses in a great circular display that is at its peak in June and smells incredible. There is a boating lake alive with herons and a bandstand for summer concerts, all for nothing.
London Zoo and the Open Air Theatre sit inside the park and cost to enter, but the park around them does not, and you can walk straight out of the north side and up Primrose Hill for one of the best free skyline views in the city.
Getting there: Ringed by tube stops, Regent's Park and Great Portland Street on the south side, Baker Street to the west, Camden Town for the north end and the zoo.
Best time to go: June for the roses in Queen Mary's Gardens, hands down. Otherwise any dry day, finishing with the climb up Primrose Hill at the north end for sunset.
Insider tip: Walk through to the north edge and up Primrose Hill while you are here. It is a free, easy ten minute climb to a protected view of the whole London skyline, and most people who do the roses never bother to carry on up.
Official site: https://www.royalparks.org.uk/visit/parks/the-regents-park
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide