Hyde Park & Kensington gardens

Location

London
United Kingdom
51° 30' 26.1648" N, 0° 9' 56.628" W
GB
General info: 

London's Hyde Park is one of the greatest city parks in the world. Covering 142 hectares (350 acres) and with over 4,000 trees, a large lake, a meadow and ornamental flower gardens, there’s a good chance you’ll forget you are right in the centre of London.

Hyde Park is home to a number of famous landmarks including the Serpentine Lake, Speakers' Corner and the Diana, Princess of Wales, Memorial Fountain. The park also offers various recreational activities including open water swimming, boating, cycling, tennis and horse riding.

Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, lye immediately to the west of Hyde Park. They cover an area of 270 acres. The park is the setting of J.M. Barrie's book Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, a prelude to the character's famous adventures in Neverland. The fairies of the gardens are first described in Thomas Tickell's 1722 poem Kensington Gardens. Both the book and the character are honored with the Peter Pan statue located in the park.

Getting there: 

By Tube
The tube stations that surround Hyde Park are:
• Lancaster Gate (Central Line)
• Marble Arch (Central Line)
• Hyde Park Corner (Piccadilly Line)
• Knightsbridge (Piccadilly Line)
By Bus
• North London: 6, 7, 10, 16, 52, 73, 82, 390, 414
• South London: 2, 36, 137, 436
• West London: 9, 10, 14, 19, 22, 52, 74, 148, 414
• East London: 8, 15, 30, 38, 274

Costs: 

The entry is free.
Hyde Park is open from 5:00 am until midnight all year round.
Kensington Gardens opens from 6 am daily.

Interesting places nearby

At the German-speaking end of the rail-link included Gstaad ski pass and now lift linked to the ski areas above neighbouring Saanemöser, St. Stephan and Schönried.

BASE: 403ft
SUMMIT: 3405ft
VERTICAL DROP: 3001ft

NO. OF. LIFTS: 9
Gondolas: 0
Chairs: 0
Surface: 9

The ski circuit Winterberg is the largest coherent ski area north of the Mainlinie and located in the ski region Sauerland. The ski area offers numerous well-groomed pistes for all levels of difficulty.

Winter sports and Willingen – a magical combination. With it’s sunny slopes and several kilometres of pistes, the ski area Willingen sets itself apart from other low mountain range regions.

BASE: 849ft
SUMMIT: 1250ft
VERTICAL DROP: 400ft

NO. OF. LIFTS: 6
Gondolas: 0
Chairs: 0
Surface: 6

Summer and winter family tourist resort. Village of 940 residents (Les Véternats), calm, pleasant, in a nest of greenery.
From 600 to 1200 m of altitude, at the heart of the Massif Vosgien