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Things to do in South Kensington > Experience > Gardens & Parks > Holland Park
PARK
Holland Park
Holland Park offers something rare: atmosphere. Tucked behind Kensington High Street, it is smaller than its neighbours yet more characterful — a park where woodland paths, formal gardens, and cultural spaces coexist within 54 acres.
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A layered landscape
Holland Park takes its name from Holland House, a Jacobean mansion bombed during the Blitz and now a romantic ruin. The surviving wings form the park’s architectural anchor, their arcades and brickwork lending the lawns a melancholy grandeur. Around them, the grounds unfold in shifting moods: formal terraces, wooded dells, and hidden corners where peacocks wander freely.
Have you ever noticed how some parks feel like narratives, unfolding chapter by chapter? Holland Park reads like that — moving from stately avenues to almost rural woodland in the space of minutes.
Gardens within the garden
Kyoto Garden
Created in 1991 to mark the Japan Festival in London, the Kyoto Garden is Holland Park’s jewel. A tiered waterfall spills into a pond of koi carp, framed by acers and stone lanterns. Visitors linger on bridges, watching peacocks strut among the maples. It is both a photogenic spot and a genuine retreat, designed in the spirit of harmony.
Fukushima Garden
Added in 2012 as a gift from the Japanese city of Fukushima, this smaller garden complements Kyoto with its own calm geometry. Plantings change with the seasons — cherry blossoms in spring, fiery foliage in autumn — making it a quiet meditation on resilience and renewal.
Dutch Garden
In contrast, the Dutch Garden offers a formal European aesthetic. Symmetrical beds of tulips and seasonal flowers are framed by clipped hedges, creating a burst of colour within the park’s softer green palette.
Together, these gardens make Holland Park unusually international: a park where design traditions from Japan and Europe share ground with English woodland.
A cultural stage
Beyond the gardens, Holland Park hosts the annual Opera Holland Park festival, when a temporary auditorium rises beside the mansion ruins. Summer evenings fill with music, the setting lending drama to every performance. The Ecology Centre and adventure playground keep the park family-friendly, while sports pitches and tennis courts anchor it in everyday use.
It is this balance — cultural prestige and neighbourhood life — that makes Holland Park distinctive.
Why it matters now
In a city of vast parks and ceremonial gardens, Holland Park thrives on intimacy. It offers the sense of discovery: a peacock crossing your path, a waterfall tucked in a corner, an opera staged against a ruin. Despite its atmosphere, Holland Park remains entirely public, free to enter, and never overwhelming.
Address
Holland Park, Ilchester Place, London W8
Opening hours
Daily: 07:30 until dusk
Open year-round
Admission
Free entry
Why We Love It
The Kyoto Garden — a genuine oasis of calm and beauty.
Opera Holland Park, where music meets historic ruins.
Its layered character: woodland, formal gardens, and cultural venues all in one.
Plan Your Visit
Location
Holland Park, Ilchester Place, London W8
A leafy 54-acre park in Kensington, known for its Japanese Kyoto Garden, woodland walks and elegant landscaped areas.
Opening Hours
Daily: 07:30 until dusk
Open year-round
Admission
Free entry
Getting There
Tube: Holland Park, Kensington High Street, Earls Court or Notting Hill Gate
Bus: Routes 9, 10, 27, 28, 49, 328 and C1 stop nearby
Cycle: Santander Cycles docking stations close to the park
Car: Limited metered parking; public transport is recommended
Facilities
Public toilets and baby-changing areas
Sports pitches, tennis courts and a playground
Kyoto Garden with ornamental ponds and peacocks
Cafés and seasonal refreshment kiosks
Accessible routes through the main park areas
Tips for Your Visit
Visit the Kyoto Garden early in the morning for a quieter experience
Bring children to explore the adventure playground and woodland walks
Look out for outdoor theatre and opera performances in summer
While you're here
Kensington High Street is steps away for shopping and cafés, while Notting Hill lies just beyond. For cultural continuity, the Design Museum is nearby, linking design indoors with landscape outdoors.
Other things to Do
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