The formal cultivated Regent's Park, more country-house grounds than municipal amenity, began life in 1812, when John Nash was commissioned by the Prince Regent (later George IV) to create a master plan for the former royal hunting ground. Nash's original plan included a summer palace for the prince and 56 villas for friends, none of which were realized except for eight villas (only two survive). But the the scope of Nash's ambitions are reflected in the grand neoclassical terraced houses he built on the south, east, and west edges of the park.
Today the 395-acre park, with the largest outdoor sports area in central London, draws the athletically inclined from around the city. At the center of the park is Queen Mary's Gardens, a fragrant 17-acre circle created in the 1930s containing more than 400 varieties of roses that is a favorite spot for weddings. Just to the east of the gardens is the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and the Boating Lake, which you can explore by renting a pedalo or a rowboat. Heading east from the rose gardens along Chester Road past the Broad Walk will bring you to Nash's renowned white-stucco Cumberland Terrace, with its central Ionic columns surmounted by a triangular Wedgwood-blue pediment. At the north end of the Broad Walk, you'll find London Zoo, while to the northwest of the central circle is The Hub, a state-of-the-art community sports center that has changing rooms, exercise classes, and a café with 360-degree views of the surrounding sports fields, used for soccer, rugby, cricket, field hockey, and softball. There are also tennis courts toward the park's southeast (Baker Street) entrance, and the park is a favorite north–south route for cyclists.
Regent's Park also hosts two annual events: the prestigious Frieze London art fair and Taste of London, a foodie-oriented extravaganza.
