Voted the world’s most vibrant garden in 2024, Kensington Palace Garden combines botanical refinement with royal heritage. This haven of greenery in the heart of London is a captivating Eden of vibrant colours.
A royal garden with a new crown
In the heart of London, in the refined Kensington district, lies a garden both historic and majestic: the Kensington Palace Garden. Recently dubbed “the world’s most vibrant garden” in a study published by
Travel + Leisure
, this unique place combines botanical refinement, royal history and urban peace. The analysis, carried out by the Premier Inn hotel chain, was based on the colours, floral variety and visual impact of dozens of gardens around the world as seen on Google Earth satellite images, and Kensington came out on top.
Do you like gardens? Here are some articles
you might find interesting
:
- In Ireland, this Victorian castle with stunning gardens is one of the most beautiful places in Connemara
- Upper Barrakka Gardens, a balcony over Malta
- On the Amalfi Coast, this romantic villa with gorgeous sea views and beautiful gardens is a dream waiting to be explored
- Forget Lame Como, this fairytale village on a volcanic lake 45 minutes from Rome is a must-visit this summer—it used to be the Pope’s summer residence
- An hour from Porto, the oldest city in Portugal is home to the oldest cable car in the world and stunning gardens
A garden in the heart of the city
The Kensington Gardens have their origins in the 17
th
century, when they were first planted around the palace by the same name. Since then, they have passed through the ages, moulded by the each monarch and landscape gardener’s sensibilities. Today, they cover more than 100 hectares, with avenues lined with century-old trees, ponds, flowerbeds and vast lawns. This verdant setting surrounds Kensington Palace, a royal residence still inhabited by the Royal Family (notably by Prince William and wife and kids). It is also a place of remembrance for Princess Diana, whose symbolic presence still walks the grounds.
The Sunken Garden: the soul of the park
The most iconic garden in the whole complex is without a doubt the Sunken Garden, a little treasure of symmetry and elegance. Created in 1908, it has been carefully restored to house a
statue of Diana
in 2021, unveiled by her sons William and Harry. Bordered by flowers colour-coded with the seasons, this sunken garden is one of the estate’s most photographed and loved place. Its stone pathways, central pool and perfectly arranged flower beds make it a place of contemplation imbued with poetry.
A year-round colourful festival
What earned the Kensington garden its most recent honours was the richness of its flower selection. Tulips, peonies, dahlias, roses, lavender… The park is a cornucopia of flowers carefully chosen to create a spectacle of colour and texture with every season. The researchers who drew up the rankings used tools to analyse thousands of online photos to measure the chromatic brightness of gardens around the world. Kensington stands out for its floral density and the visual diversity that emanates from its landscaped areas.
A living place between nature and memory
Kensington Palace Garden is a place of full of life and memory. Londoners stroll, jog, read or lay back on the benches in the shade of the lime trees. Far from being just a backdrop of greenery, it plays an active part in the life of the British capital, providing a place to breathe, to enjoy beauty and to allow yourself to feel emotion. Crowned the world’s most vibrant garden, Kensington Palace Garden embodies the very best of the classic English garden: elegant, lively, respectful of its history and open to all.
