The top 10 green spaces in London

To find London’s best green spaces, Barratt London analysed 34 of London’s top-rated green spaces by Google reviews, review sentiment, the number of five-star reviews, distance from the nearest station, and richness of greenery. A weighted rank was then created to calculate a total score out of 100. But which locations scored the highest?

1. Hyde Park

Our top spot goes to one of the most iconic parks in the capital - Hyde Park. Located in central London, this stunning Royal Park offers visitors a beautiful retreat from the busy city with lake-side paths along the Serpentine as well as plentiful trees and luscious grass to relax on during sunny days.

Hyde Park boasts a rich history, being established by Henry VIII in 1536 and opened to the public in 1637. Free-speech advocates may be inclined to visit Speakers’ Corner, which has been a pivotal destination for debate since 1872, hosting such disparate speakers, from Karl Marx to George Orwell.

This park is a must-see for many tourists exploring London, as well as those visiting the iconic annual BTS music festival, which is reflected in its high number of five star reviews. With its central location and incredible access to tube stations, Hyde Park can be a simple and easy destination to enjoy a lovely summer’s day.

2. St. James’s Park

St. James’s Park takes second place in our ranking. This park is situated between The Mall and Birdcage Walk in Westminster, providing a beautiful approach to the King’s residence of Buckingham Palace. Despite its hyper-central location, St. James’s Park still manages to provide a peaceful respite amongst the busy hustle and bustle of the city, which is reflected in the sentiment of its reviews.

With bright flowers and a resident family of pelicans (donated to Charles II in 1664) St. James’ Park is able to provide an excellent peaceful route between Buckingham Palace to the West, and Big Ben and Westminster Abbey to the East. Tourists may also be interested to visit for Changing the Guard or the annual Trooping the Colour, which can be watched comfortably from the park.

3. Regent’s Park

Further north, you can find Regent’s Park, split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden. The park is surrounded by five different Underground stations, making it easy to reach, regardless of which entrance you want to enter from.

Regent’s Park scored very highly in our green vibrancy score, making it an ideal spot to enjoy the rich scenery. As well as the calming lake view and stunning Queen Mary’s Rose Garden, you can also find a few attractions which you might not expect to find in every park. Hosting a number of exciting activities, this is a park you could easily spend a full day exploring.

On the north side of the park, towards Primrose Hill, you’ll find the London Zoo, where you can visit giraffes, zebras, penguins, and even lions. If music and the dramatic arts are more to your taste, you can also check out what’s on at the award-winning open air theatre, which has hosted everything from Shakespeare productions to Jesus Christ Superstar.

4. Kensington Gardens

Located across the Serpentine from our number-one ranked London green space, Kensington Gardens is the pinnacle of sophistication when it comes to London parks. Hosting the breathtaking Italian Garden, ornate buildings, and the Serpentine Art Gallery, Kensington Gardens is a feast for the eyes.

It would also be impossible to forget Kensington Palace, set to the West of the park, which is now home to the Prince and Princess of Wales. The palace has been residence to British royalty since the 17th Century, with notable occupants being Queen Anne, Kings George I and II, Queen Victoria, and Princess Diana. The palace is open to visitors today and has a number of historical exhibitions.

Not to be limited, Kensington Gardens can even be the perfect spot to entertain children, with the iconic Princess Diana Memorial Playground providing an imaginative play-space for the children of locals and visitors alike. Catering to so many different visitors, it’s easy to understand why Kensington Gardens scored so highly in our review sentiment category!

5. The Green Park

The Green Park is situated just north of Buckingham Palace and across the road from the Buckingham Palace Gardens and St James’s Park.

This park is drenched in history dating back to 1660 when it was founded by King Charles II. Despite being the first Royal Park not to have a lake or buildings within, Green Park contains multiple post-war memorials, including the Canada Memorial, the Diana of the Treetops Fountain, and the RAF Bomber Command Memorial.

Today, the park still serves as a serene connection between St James’s Park and Hyde Park, but also as a beautiful green space in its own right, scoring highly in both our review sentiment and green vibrancy categories.

 

London’s greenest green space

As part of the data, Barratt London analysed the green richness of each park by analysing images of the parks and isolating green pixels using colour filtering. This data was then used to calculate a score based on the average saturation and brightness of those green pixels, allowing us to rate how lush and vibrant the greenery appeared.

Also appearing third in our overall best green spaces rank, Regent’s Park contains the richest and most vibrant green out of the 34 the locations analysed. As well as open grassy areas, visitors can also enjoy well-maintained sports grounds and manicured gardens.

Holland park takes second place for green richness and vibrancy. Located in Kensington, this 54 acre park offers luscious woodland, a playground for children, and two breathtaking Japanese gardens.

Taking third place for green vibrancy is Tower Hamlets’ Victoria Park, towards East London, boasting an iconic Chinese pagoda as well as a quaint boating lake.

St. James’s Park ranked fourth in for green vibrancy in our research, closely followed by The Green Park, both of which also featured in our top five overall London green spaces list.

The psychological effects of green spaces

According to some psychologists, spending time in areas of green space is incredibly important for our mental health and wellbeing.

Barratt London spoke with psychologist Dr. Ravi Gill, who answered some of our questions on why green spaces are so important for this.

Dr. Gill says: “Having green spaces in urban centres like London provides critical benefits for individuals, communities, and the environment. These spaces are not just aesthetic, they serve as essential infrastructure for public health, mental well-being, climate resilience, and social cohesion.

“Access to parks and green areas is strongly linked to lower rates of anxiety, depression, and stress. Even small daily interactions with greenery can enhance mood and reduce emotional distress.”

Does the colour green have any positive psychological impacts?

“From a psychological standpoint, green is a colour strongly associated with nature, balance, and restoration, and its effects on human functioning are supported by both environmental and cognitive psychology.

• Affect and Emotion: Green has a calming and stabilising influence on emotional states. It tends to reduce anxiety and promote a sense of safety and equilibrium, likely due to evolutionary associations with lush, life-sustaining environments.
• Cognitive Functioning: Exposure to green - particularly in natural contexts - has been shown to restore attention (per Attention Restoration Theory) and enhance creative performance. These effects are linked to reduced cognitive fatigue and increased mental clarity.
• Mental Health and Stress: Time spent in green environments or exposure to green hues can lower physiological stress markers (like cortisol) and alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety.
• Biophilic Response: The colour’s benefits are thought to stem from a deep-seated biophilic response, an innate psychological affinity for natural stimuli, which aids emotional regulation and psychological resilience.

“In essence, psychologists recognise green as a psychologically reparative colour that supports emotional balance, attentional recovery, and mental health, making it valuable in therapeutic environments, educational settings, and everyday life.”

What are the psychological benefits of being out in nature?

“Nature exposure supports mental health by reducing stress, enhancing mood and cognition, and fostering emotional well-being. Psychologically, it acts as a natural buffer against the demands of modern life and improves overall psychological resilience.

“Being in nature lowers cortisol (the stress hormone), heart rate, and blood pressure. It helps to promote the relaxation response, reducing physiological arousal and tension. Spending time in nature helps to boost attention, working memory, and creativity, and helps to restore our mental energy and reduces decision fatigue.

“It’s especially important for office and home workers to get outside into nature because their environments often limit exposure to natural light, fresh air, and physical movement, all essential for mental and physical health.

“Taking children to green spaces offers powerful developmental benefits. Psychologically, nature supports improved attention, emotional regulation, and reduced stress, with benefits for children with ADHD or anxiety. Cognitively, it enhances focus, creativity, and academic performance, while socially it encourages cooperation, empathy, and positive peer interactions.”

Full results

Methodology

Average walking time to each destination from the nearest station was calculated manually using Google Maps, including Underground, Overground, DLR, and train stations. User review data was taken from Google reviews. Sentiment analysis utilized the VADER sentiment analyzer to evaluate user-submitted reviews.

The Green Richness Score is a visual greenery quality metric that analyzes real-world park images by isolating green pixels using HSV colour filtering, then calculating a score based on the average saturation and brightness of those pixels to reflect how lush and vibrant the vegetation appears.

The weighted rank score used data on: distance in minutes to the nearest station, review score, number of five-stat reviews, review sentiment score, and green richness score, each contributing 20% of the rank.

More about Dr. Ravi Gill

Dr. Ravi Gill is a Chartered Health Psychologist with over 15 years of experience in mental health and more than 6 years specialising in trauma within occupational health settings for the MPS. She holds a Doctorate in Health Psychology and has worked extensively with individuals across the lifespan, supporting clients dealing with the psychological impact of physical health conditions, memory difficulties, and workplace-related trauma.