Hyde Park, the large rectangular expanse often associated with London, is one of the city's most popular greens. As in other Royal Parks, wood-and-cloth chaise longues are scattered about so you, too, can be sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun. Fee collectors will appear from nowhere and demand 60p from seated tourists, each of whom is usually ignorant of this cost of relaxation; the benches and grass are free.
The park is especially lively on Sunday, when artists hang their wares along the Bayswater Road fence and the northeast corner, near Marble Arch, becomes Speakers' Corner, where anyone can stand on a soapbox and pontificate on any subject. Although this tradition is often touted as an example of Britain's tolerance of free speech, few people realize that this ritual began several hundred years ago when condemned prisoners were allowed some final words before they were hanged on Tyburn gallows, which stood on the same spot. Take the tube to Hyde Park Corner.
A huge misshapen circle north of central London, Regent's Park is the city's playground, famous for its zoo, concerts, and open-air theater in summer. A band plays free beside the lake twice daily from May to August. Get there by tube to Regent's Park or Baker Street, or Camden Town for the zoo.
St. James's Park, opposite Buckingham Palace, is perhaps the most beautiful of London's greens. Swans, geese, and other waterfowl, including a family of pelicans, make their home here (feedings daily at 3pm). A central location, a beautiful lake, and plentiful benches make this park perfect for picnicking. Take the tube to St. James's Park.
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The Chelsea Physic Garden, 66 Royal Hospital Rd., SW3 founded in 1673, is the second-oldest botanical garden in England. Behind high brick walls is a rare collection of old and exotic plants, shrubs, and trees, including Asian herbs and a 19th-century fruiting olive tree. Founded by the Society of Apothecaries to teach their apprentices how to identify medicinal plants, the garden has since expanded to include rare species from the New World. Admission is L2.50 ($3.75) for adults, L .30 ($1.95) for students and children. The garden is open April to October, Wednesday from 2 to 5pm and Sunday from 2 to 6pm. Take the tube to Sloane Square.