Greenwich Park is one of London’s loveliest expanses of green, with a rose garden, picturesque walks, a 6th-century Anglo-Saxon burial ground and astonishing views of Canary Wharf from the crown of the hill. Covering 74 hectares, it's the oldest enclosed royal park and is partly the work of André Le Nôtre, the landscape architect who designed the palace gardens of Versailles. It's bisected by the imaginary meridian line and is also home to the Ranger's House and the Royal Observatory.

Sprawling Hampstead Heath, with its rolling woodlands and meadows, feels a million miles away – despite being about 3.5 miles from Trafalgar Square. It covers 320 hectares, most of it woods, hills and meadows, and is home to about 180 bird species, 25 species of butterflies, grass snakes, bats and a rich array of flora. It's a wonderful place for a ramble, especially to the top of Parliament Hill, which offers expansive views across flat-as-a-pancake London.

The glittering centrepiece of London's 2012 Olympic Games, this vast 227-hectare expanse includes the main Olympic venues as well as playgrounds, walking and cycling trails, gardens and a diverse mix of wetland, woodland, meadow and other wildlife habitats – an environmentally fertile legacy for the future. The main focal point is London Stadium, now the home ground for West Ham United FC.

Hyde Park is central London's largest green space, expropriated from the church in 1536 by Henry VIII and turned into a hunting ground and later a venue for duels, executions and horse racing. The 1851 Great Exhibition was held here, and during WWII, the park became an enormous potato field. These days, it's a place to stroll and picnic, boat on the Serpentine lake, or catch a summer concert or outdoor film during the warmer months.

Nothing today remains of the Crystal Palace except the Victorian terrace and its crumbling Sphinx statues. The park is great for kids though, who will have fun discovering the dinosaur sculptures dotted about; the first dinosaur sculptures ever made, they date to the mid-19th century, so display anatomical inaccuracies representing the more limited scientific knowledge of their day. The statues are Grade I listed monuments.

Surging on into Putney Heath, Wimbledon Common blankets a staggering 460 hectares of southwest London. An astonishing expanse of open, wild and wooded space for walking (the best mode of exploration), nature trailing and picnicking, the common has its own windmill, dating from 1817. On the southern side of the common, the misnamed Caesar’s Camp is what’s left of a roughly circular earthen fort built in the 5th century BC. Take bus 93 from Wimbledon tube, train or tram station.

At almost 1000 hectares (the largest urban parkland in Europe), this park offers everything from formal gardens and ancient oaks to unsurpassed views of central London 12 miles away. It’s easy to flee the several roads slicing up the rambling wilderness, making the park perfect for a quiet walk or a picnic with the kids, even in summer when Richmond’s riverside heaves. Coming from Richmond, it’s easiest to enter via Richmond Gate or from Petersham Rd.

The ‘Regent’s Park of the East End’, this 86-hectare leafy expanse of ornamental lakes, monuments, tennis courts, flower beds and lawns was opened in 1845. It was the first public park in the East End, given the go-ahead after a local MP presented Queen Victoria with a petition of 30,000 signatures. It quickly gained a reputation as the 'People's Park' when many rallies were held here.

A delightful collection of manicured lawns, tree-shaded avenues and basins immediately west of Hyde Park, the picturesque expanse of Kensington Gardens is technically part of Kensington Palace, located in the far west of the gardens. The large Round Pond in front of the palace is enjoyable to amble around, and also worth a look are the lovely fountains in the Italian Gardens, believed to be a gift from Prince Albert to Queen Victoria; they are now the venue of a cafe.

The largest and most elaborate of central London’s many Royal Parks, Regent's Park is one of the capital's loveliest green spaces. Among its many attractions are London Zoo, Regent’s Canal, an ornamental lake, and sports pitches where locals meet to play football, rugby and volleyball. Queen Mary’s Gardens, towards the south of the park, are particularly pretty, especially in June when the roses are in bloom. Performances take place here in an open-air theatre during summer.

This handsome park divides into dense woodland in the north, spacious and inviting lawns by Holland House, sports fields in the south, and some lovely gardens, including the restful Kyoto Garden. The park’s splendid peacocks are a gorgeous sight and a playground keeps kids occupied. Holland House – largely bombed to smithereens by the Luftwaffe in 1940 – is the venue of Opera Holland Park in summer.

At 23 hectares, St James's is the second-smallest of the eight royal parks after Green Park. But what it lacks in size it makes up for in grooming, as it is the most manicured green space in London. It has brilliant views of the London Eye, Westminster, St James's Palace, Carlton House Terrace and Horse Guards Parade; the picture-perfect sight of Buckingham Palace from the Blue Bridge spanning the central lake is the best you’ll find.