Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens are two free Royal Parks that join to make one huge green space in west-central London, with the Serpentine lake running between them. You can walk, swim, hire a boat, visit two free art galleries and see some of London's best-known memorials, all without buying a ticket.
On a map they look like one park, and most visitors never notice where one ends and the other begins. The border is West Carriage Drive, the road that crosses the Serpentine bridge. East of it is Hyde Park, about 142 hectares of lawns, sports grounds and event space that the Royal Parks charity calls "The People's Park". West of it is Kensington Gardens, about 107 hectares, which was laid out as the garden of Kensington Palace and still feels quieter and more formal.
Both are managed by The Royal Parks, a charity, and both are free to enter. The main difference for a visitor is the opening hours: Hyde Park stays open until midnight, while Kensington Gardens closes at dusk. In a long afternoon you can see the lake, the Italian Gardens, Peter Pan and the Albert Memorial on foot, with time for a boat trip.
The two parks at a glance
- Entry
- Free to both parks
- Hyde Park hours
- 5am to midnight, every day of the year
- Kensington Gardens hours
- 6am to dusk (the exact time changes through the year)
- Size
- Hyde Park about 142 hectares; Kensington Gardens about 107 hectares
- Nearest Tube stations
- Hyde Park Corner, Knightsbridge (Piccadilly line); Marble Arch, Lancaster Gate, Queensway (Central line); Bayswater (Circle line)
- Toilets
- 20p, paid by card or phone only (no cash)
- Managed by
- The Royal Parks, a registered charity
Walking the Serpentine from end to end
The Serpentine and the Long Water are really one lake. It was created around 1730 for Queen Caroline, wife of George II, and follows the valley of the Westbourne stream, which now runs underground. The Serpentine bridge divides the two names: north of it, on the Kensington Gardens side, the water is called the Long Water.
Henry VIII took Hyde Park from the monks of Westminster Abbey in 1536 to hunt deer, and Charles I opened it to the public in 1637. Kensington Gardens began as the palace garden, and Queen Victoria, who was born at Kensington Palace, later added the Italian Gardens and the Albert Memorial.
The best first walk is simply around the lake. Start at the eastern end near the Queen Caroline memorial, an urn on a plinth that overlooks the water, and follow the south shore west. You pass the bronze sculpture Serenity and the Lido before reaching the bridge. Cross it, and you are in Kensington Gardens.
From the bridge, the path along the west side of the Long Water leads north to the Peter Pan statue and then to the Italian Gardens at the top of the lake. Coming back down the east bank gives you a full loop. The paths are wide and mostly level, and the loop takes about an hour without stops.
Please do not feed the ducks, swans or geese. The Royal Parks asks visitors not to feed any wildlife, because it does the animals more harm than good. Dogs must be on a lead around the Serpentine and the Long Water.
Boating on the Serpentine: prices and times
Hiring a pedalo or a rowing boat is the classic Hyde Park activity, and you do not need to book. The Hyde Park Boathouse opens at 10am. In September it closes at 7pm, from October to March it closes at dusk, and from November to March it normally opens only from Wednesday to Sunday, depending on the weather. It can stop hiring boats in bad weather, and on busy days the queue may close early so that the lake can be cleared.
| Boat hire (Hyde Park) | Peak | Off-peak (10am-12pm) |
|---|---|---|
| Adult, 60 minutes | £13.95 | £9.50 |
| Child 3-15, 60 minutes | £6.95 | £5.55 |
| Family (2 adults, up to 3 children), 60 minutes | £37.10 | £25.35 |
| Adult, 30 minutes | £10.95 | £7.10 |
| Electric pedalo, 30 minutes (per boat) | £52 | - |
Children under three ride free, and carers go free. A couple paying the peak rate for an hour spends £27.90, so the family ticket is the better deal as soon as you bring one or two children. Prices were checked in September 2026 on the Royal Parks boating page, which also lists any current offers. For online bookings made between 7 and 25 September 2026, the Royal Parks is running a "Kids Go Free" promotion with the code BACKTOSCHOOL.
Boat before noon and the Serpentine costs a third less. The off-peak rate applies from 10am to 12pm. An adult hour drops from £13.95 to £9.50, and a family hour from £37.10 to £25.35. The lake is calmer in the morning too, which helps if it is your first time rowing.
Swimming at the Serpentine Lido
The Lido is a marked 100-metre stretch of open water at the south-west corner of the Serpentine, with lifeguards and its own café. It is home to the Serpentine Swimming Club, the oldest swimming club in Britain, whose members swim early every morning. Public swimming runs in summer only: according to the Royal Parks, the season usually lasts from June to mid-September, with weekend sessions from mid-May.
An adult full-day ticket costs £8.40, a session £6.50 and entry after 4pm £2.50. Booking is recommended but not essential, and under-16s must swim with an adult. By the time you read this in autumn, the public season has probably ended, so check the Serpentine Lido page before you pack a swimsuit. Swimming anywhere else in the lake is not allowed.
The Diana memorials: fountain and playground
Two memorials to Diana, Princess of Wales, sit on either side of the lake. The Diana Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 6 July 2004. It is not a tall fountain but a low stream channel built from 545 pieces of Cornish granite, where water flows from the highest point in two directions and meets in a calm pool at the bottom. Visitors are normally welcome to sit on the edge and cool their feet.
The Diana fountain has been closed since July 2026. On 1 July 2026 the Royal Parks announced that a major fault with the water system in Hyde Park meant it could not run the fountain, and closed the area for safety. It had not reopened when we checked in September 2026. See the official fountain page for updates before you plan a visit around it.
The Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens, next to the palace, is one of the best free playgrounds in London. It reopened on 5 August 2026 after a £3 million renewal that included a new wooden pirate galleon. It is free, but only adults who are supervising children up to the age of 12 are allowed in. Adults without children may look around only between 9.30am and 10am.
In September the playground is open from 10am to 6.45pm, and in early October until 5.45pm. The water play features are switched off because of a hosepipe ban. Families with younger children will find more ideas in our guide to London's city farms and playgrounds.
The Italian Gardens and the Long Water
At the northern tip of the Long Water, close to Lancaster Gate station, are the Italian Gardens. They were created in the 1860s and are believed to have been a gift from Prince Albert to Queen Victoria, based on the terraced garden he designed at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. There are four main basins with fountains, carved marble rosettes, stone urns and the white Tazza Fountain.
Look at the small Pump House at the north end of the gardens. Victoria and Albert's initials are carved on one wall, and the pillar on the roof is a disguised chimney from the steam engine that once powered the fountains. The gardens were restored in 2011. The Italian Gardens Café next to them is a good place to stop, and dogs must be on a lead around the fountains.
From here, a short walk down the west bank brings you to the Peter Pan statue. J.M. Barrie, who lived nearby and set part of his story in these gardens, commissioned Sir George Frampton to make it, and it has stood beside the water since 1912. The bronze shows Peter surrounded by fairies, rabbits, mice and squirrels, on the spot where he lands his bird's-nest boat in Barrie's story The Little White Bird.
Kensington Gardens: palace, Round Pond and Albert Memorial
The centre of Kensington Gardens is the Round Pond, with avenues of trees spreading out from it towards Kensington Palace. The palace is the London home of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and part of it is open to paying visitors. An adult ticket costs £24.70 until 8 November 2026. The Queen's State Apartments are closed until spring 2027, and in the week we checked the palace was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so read our full guide to visiting Kensington Palace before you go. The palace gardens are free.
On the south edge of the park, facing the Royal Albert Hall, stands the Albert Memorial. It was designed by George Gilbert Scott and unveiled in 1872 in memory of Prince Albert, who died of typhoid in 1861. Officially called the Prince Consort National Memorial, it is one of the most ornate monuments in London, a high-Victorian Gothic tribute to Albert's interests and to the achievements of his age.
For flowers, walk the 400-metre South Flower Walk, planted in Victorian style, or the shorter and more informal North Flower Walk. Both are good places to sit quietly, even in winter. The two main cafés in Kensington Gardens are the Italian Gardens Café and the Broad Walk Café near the palace.
Two free galleries and a summer pavilion
Kensington Gardens has two contemporary art galleries, Serpentine North and Serpentine South, which show work by living artists and architects. Entry is free, although the galleries advise visitors to book a ticket. Every summer a leading architect is commissioned to design a temporary pavilion in the park, and it is worth a look even if modern art is not your thing.
The galleries close between exhibitions. In September 2026 Serpentine North was closed for installation until 23 September, and Serpentine South until 8 October, so check the Serpentine visit page before you walk over. Plenty more free culture is close by: the Natural History Museum and the V&A are about 15 minutes' walk south of the Albert Memorial.
Speakers' Corner, the Rose Garden and the memorials of Hyde Park
In the north-east corner near Marble Arch is Speakers' Corner, a traditional spot for public speaking where Karl Marx, Emmeline Pankhurst and George Orwell are all said to have had their say. Anyone can stand up and speak, and Sunday is traditionally the liveliest day.
Near Hyde Park Corner, the Rose Garden is at its best in June and July, although many roses keep flowering until the first frosts. Nearby are the 7 July Memorial, 52 stainless steel pillars for the 52 people killed in the London bombings of 2005, and the Holocaust Memorial, Britain's first, a quiet group of boulders among birch trees. Just outside the park near Brook Gate is the Animals in War Memorial.
If you want a longer route, the seven-mile Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk links Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Green Park and St James's Park, marked by 90 plaques in the ground.
Concerts, Winter Wonderland and other big events
Hyde Park is the Royal Park that hosts the biggest events. In summer the BST Hyde Park concert series brings major bands to a stage in the park, and in winter a large part of the park becomes Hyde Park Winter Wonderland. In 2026 it runs from 19 November to 3 January 2027. You need a timed ticket to enter, booked online, and on-the-day prices are higher than advance prices. In November, entry costs just £1 off-peak from Monday to Thursday. Our guide to Christmas in London covers it alongside the other seasonal events.
Big events close parts of the park and its roads. The Royal Parks Half Marathon on Sunday 11 October 2026 will close some roads and cycle routes, and the Swim Serpentine event on Saturday 19 September 2026 closes the Cockpit area and the Triangle car park from 17 to 20 September. Check the notices on the Hyde Park page for your date.
Getting there, getting around and eating
Four Tube stations sit on the edge of Hyde Park: Hyde Park Corner and Knightsbridge on the Piccadilly line, and Marble Arch and Lancaster Gate on the Central line. For Kensington Gardens, use Lancaster Gate or Queensway (Central line) or Bayswater (Circle line). Paddington station, with the Elizabeth line and Heathrow Express, is about 500 metres north of the parks. Our guide to the Underground explains fares and touching in and out.
Cycling is allowed on marked routes such as Serpentine Road and the Broad Walk, but not on the smaller paths, and pedestrians always have priority. There are Santander Cycles docking stations around the park: a single ride costs £1.65 for up to 30 minutes. See our page on hire bikes and cycling in London for how the day pass works.
Hyde Park has four main cafés: the Serpentine Bar & Kitchen, the Serpentine Lido Café, the Lodge Café and the Park Sports Café, plus kiosks. Picnics are welcome, but barbecues are not allowed. The park toilets cost 20p and take only contactless cards or phones, which catches out many visitors with coins; our page on finding a toilet in London lists free alternatives.
Kensington Gardens locks its gates at dusk, Hyde Park does not. If you are walking back from the palace or the Italian Gardens on an autumn or winter evening, head east across West Carriage Drive in good time. Hyde Park itself stays open until midnight.
Planning your visit: how long, when and what to combine
Two to three hours covers the main sights at an easy pace. Add an hour for a boat or the playground, and two more for the palace. Spring brings cherry blossom and daffodils, June and July are best for roses, and autumn gives good tree colours with fewer people.
The parks sit between several good neighbourhoods. South of Kensington Gardens is South Kensington and its museums, and just south of Hyde Park is Knightsbridge with Harrods. To the north-west, a short walk from Queensway takes you to Notting Hill. Everything in this article except the extras is free, so the parks fit any budget day out. The other central Royal Parks are covered in our guide to London's parks and gardens, and Regent's Park has London's largest collection of roses.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free to go into Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens?
Yes. Both parks are free to enter every day. You pay only for extras such as boat hire, the Serpentine Lido, cafés and the 20p toilets. Kensington Palace, inside Kensington Gardens, needs a paid ticket, but its gardens are free.
What time does Hyde Park close?
Hyde Park's gates open at 5am and close at midnight every day of the year. Kensington Gardens opens at 6am and closes at dusk, so it closes much earlier in autumn and winter. Parts of Hyde Park can close for large events, so check the Royal Parks website before an evening visit.
Is the Diana Memorial Fountain open?
Not at the time of writing. The Royal Parks closed the fountain on 1 July 2026 because of a major fault with Hyde Park's water system, and it was still closed in September 2026. The Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens is open again after its renewal.
Do I need to book a boat on the Serpentine?
No. You can walk up to the Hyde Park Boathouse and hire a pedalo or rowing boat on the day. Booking online is optional. On busy summer weekends the queue can close early, so arrive before the afternoon if you want to be sure of a boat.
Can you swim in the Serpentine?
Only at the Serpentine Lido, a marked area with lifeguards at the south-west corner of the lake, and only during the summer season, which usually runs from June to mid-September with weekend sessions from mid-May. Swimming is not allowed anywhere else in the lake.
Sources
- The Royal Parks - Hyde Park FAQs (checked September 2026)
- The Royal Parks - Kensington Gardens FAQs (checked September 2026)
- The Royal Parks - Diana Memorial Fountain (checked September 2026)
- The Royal Parks Sport & Leisure - Boating in Hyde Park (checked September 2026)
- The Royal Parks Sport & Leisure - Swimming in Hyde Park (checked September 2026)
- The Royal Parks - Diana Memorial Playground (checked September 2026)
- The Royal Parks - Italian Gardens (checked September 2026)
- Serpentine Galleries - Plan your free visit (checked September 2026)