If you’re looking for more beautiful parkland in the city, make sure to read our post covering the Best London Parks and Gardens.
What is Regent’s Park?
NOTE: For the purpose of this post, we are also including Primrose Hill as The Royal Parks do, though we have a post dedicated to that section.
Originally land owned by the Crown after the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1500s, Regent’s Park was transformed in the early 1800s by John Nash, and James and Decimus Burton at the behest of the Prince Regent (future King George VI), who wished to turn the area into a pleasure garden.
Although the park would be named after the Regent, the Crown Estate refused to pay and it is thanks to James Burton that the project was financed, completed, and opened to the public.
Opened for the first time in 1835, the park has since evolved to contain the London Zoo, Queen Mary’s Gardens, an outdoor theatre, sports pitches, and numerous statues, memorials, and fountains.
One of London’s eight Royal Parks, Regent’s Park is 166 hectares (410 acres) of green space right in the middle of London.
The park is also a home for wildlife with around 100 species of wild birds as well as a breeding population of hedgehogs!
Oftentimes less busy than the more central St. James’s Park and Hyde Park, Regent’s Park is a beautiful oasis and a fabulous place to spend a few hours – or even the entire day.