London Marylebone and Regent's Park

The Regent's Park, Regent's Park ( 020 7486 7905;www.royalparks.org.uk) In 1811, the Prince Regent commissioned the parks as private gardens, and hired John Nash to design them. However, in 1841, the parks were opened to the public, and the city lives all the better for it. Locals, pigeons, thirty couples of herons, and tourists alike frolic among the 10,000 wild flowers and 50 acres of pitches and courts. Queen Mary's Garden houses the national collection of delphiniums as well as a gorgeous collection of 30,000 roses. It is also home to an interesting strain of pink flower known as Sexy Rexy. The park's popular open-air theater is the setting for all kinds of shows, the screams from the more dramatic performances intermingling with those of children deprived too long of ice cream. The Gardens of St. John's Lodge are behind one of the eight villas on the park, and serve as a place for quiet meditation beneath the gorgeous latticed archways—a sort of secret garden which also affords a peek into the back of St. John's Lodge. Be aware that security's tight. Also, be sure to check if the grass is greener on his side of the fence. The Winfield House just off the outer circle is the home of the US amabassador. Regent's Park. Call 020 7486 8117 for information on the deck chairs. Book plays through www.openairtheatre.com. Deck chair £1.50 per hr., £4 per 3hr., £7 per day. Boats £6.50 per 1hr., £4.85 per 1½hr. Park open daily 5am-dusk. Boating lake open Mar-Oct 10:30am-7pm. Takes credit cards. Outdoor seating.

The Wallace Collection Manchester Sq. (030 7563 9552; www.wallacecollection.org ) Housed in the palatial Hereford House, the Wallace Collection features an array of paintings, porcelain, and armor collected by over five generations of the Wallace family and bequeathed to the nation by Sir Richard Wallace in 1897. The mansion's stunning collection is rendered even more dazzling by its grand gilded setting. The ground floor's four Armoury Galleries boast scads of richly decorated weapons and burnished suits of armor while the State Rooms hold a collection of sumptuous Sèvres porcelain. The East Galleries feature 17th-century masterpieces by Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Rubens, Ruisdael, Velazquez, Titian and Gainsborough within the Great Gallery. One of the collection's most celebrated pieces, Frans Hals's The Laughing Cavalier is in here as well. Marble Arch. Left onto Oxford St., left on Duke St., right onto Manchester Sq. Private tours W, Sa, Su 11:30am and 3pm; call for details. Gallery free. Suggested donation £5. Audio tours £4. Open daily 10am-5pm. Wheelchair access.

Regent’s Park

GARDENS OF SAINT JOHN’S LODGE. While the two private villas in the park, Holme and St. John’s Lodge, are owned by the unimaginably rich and closed to public viewing, these formal gardens, on the ...more

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