Forty-two million people visit it every year, but it's still not difficult to find yourself alone there. In New York, there's Central Park, of course, with its wild ramble, ice rink and air of the unexpected. It's worth a metro or RER trip to the Bois de Vincennes, the Bois de Boulogne and the Parc des Buttes Chaumont. I also suggest Parc Montsouris, on the southern edge of the city, with its sloping lawns and pond.
Parc Monceau is also gorgeous and excellent for a stroll. The natural history museum there is one of the most beautiful in the world. I love the less formal 17th century Jardin des Plantes in the 5th, which has many botanical specimens, a winter garden and many hothouses, including one with Australian plants. The French, like the Italians, prefer their gardens formal, so it's always a surprise to come across plots that are allowed to get a bit shaggy. There's an antique carousel in the middle and also, some wilder parts if you look for them. It's a wonderful walk, along crunchy paths, and it has recently been renovated, so there are more seats, and tidier paths. Most visitors head for a bracing walk along the Tuileries from the Louvre to Concord. These days, that rule seems to have been abandoned, thankfully. When I lived in Paris with a small child, adults weren't allowed to sit on the grass without the company of a child. They include a delightful pond where children sail antique miniature yachts, the guignol, a historic puppet theatre, and pony rides. These gardens have always been among my favourites in the world. It was early spring and enormous tulips in extraordinary colours filled all the garden beds.īy submitting your email you are agreeing to Nine Publishing's The last time I visited Paris, I stayed at Hotel Le Senat, a small hotel well situated near the back gate of the Luxembourg Gardens in the 6th arrondissement. Not only are there health benefits, but fresh air and stimulating scenery get the mind ticking over again after the artificially lit world of airports and planes. There's nothing like a good, fast walk after a flight. It's the first thing I do after I arrive, if it's daylight hours. In every big city in the world, the public gardens are where I go to get the pulse of the place.
The colourful spring floral display at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen with the pirate ship St Georg behind. Around the moated perimeter, athletic types were jogging and schoolboy baseball teams were doing their training, urged on by parents. (January is an excellent time to visit Tokyo, by the way.) Instead, the gardens were enjoyed by locals, who were contemplating nature, strolling with prams, or cutting through the forest on their way to work. There were few tourists there these glorious winter days. Tokyo can be a frenetic city but the gardens are where it breathes.
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