Ten major world cities with glorious central green spaces

When urban sightseeing gets a bit too intense, it’s time to head to one of the world’s great breathing spaces. In popular tourist cities around the world, there’s often a glorious park, garden, mountain or other green zone within walking distance of the city centre. Locals use them to catch their breath and gather their thoughts – and visitors can use these urban escapes to decompress.

Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh, Scotland

Flower-filled landscape ascending Arthur’s Seat.Credit: Getty Images

At the eastern end of Edinburgh’s Old Town, Arthur’s Seat is the remnant of a volcano, rising 251 metres above sea level. Inside Holyrood Park and with an ancient hill fort at the top, the moderately strenuous hike up Arthur’s Seat has long been a rite of passage – particularly for the hungover during Edinburgh’s bacchanalian festival season. There are tremendous views out over the city towards Edinburgh Castle from the top, too.

Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa

Spectacular Table Mountain.Credit: iStock

Cape Town is built around Table Mountain, and most visitors take the cable car to the top. But there are also several pretty challenging walking routes, some of which start just to the south of the city centre, and all of which are steeper, rockier and more exposed than visitors expect.

The favoured local alternative is the neighbouring 669-metre-high Lion’s Head, where the walk to the summit and back takes about two hours and the views are similar.

Barton Springs Pool, Austin, Texas

Barton Springs swimming hole, Texas.Credit: Getty Images

Surrounded by the trees and sports fields of Zilker Park, Barton Springs Pool is a 1.2-hectare wonder, fed by underground springs at a consistent temperature of about 20°C.

It’s a three-kilometre walk from downtown Austin, mostly along the scenic shores of Lady Bird Lake, and grassy banks for sunbathing surround the pool. The key to the appeal, though, is that the pool feels wild – helped by the natural rocky bottom and the protected salamanders that live in the water.

Mount Eden, Auckland, NZ

Mount Eden offers head-spinning 360-degree views of the city.

The tallest of Auckland’s greedy collection of volcanic cones, 196-metre-high Mount Eden has become a lot more serene since vehicles were prevented from driving to the top.

At the summit, you can peer down into a 50-metre-deep crater regarded as sacred by the local Maori or admire the panorama taking in both of Auckland’s natural harbours on either side of the isthmus. For colour and flowering flora, detour via the Eden Garden on the eastern slope.

The Prater, Vienna, Austria

The Prater is home of the Riesenrad big wheel.Credit: WienTourismus/Christian Stemper

Lying between Vienna’s Innere Stadt and the River Danube, there are two sides to the Prater. The first is the hurly-burly of the funfair at the northern end, home of the Riesenrad big wheel that has become an emblem of the city.

Beyond the screamy rides, however, the Prater gets a lot more tranquil, with woodland walking trails, picnic lawns and a massive open-air swimming pool.

Fort Canning Park, Singapore

Up the stairs in Fort Canning Park, Singapore.Credit: Getty Images

While visitors flock to the much flashier Gardens by the Bay, Singapore’s old hands escape to the historic Fort Canning Park. There are still remnants of the former British military HQ here, but much more has been added since independence.

These highlights include the central reservoir, the Spice Garden and the artworks of the ASEAN Sculpture Garden, while the Raffles Garden showcases plants from around South-East Asia.

Petrin Hill, Prague, Czechia

Pink and white blossoms arrive at Petrin Hill around mid-March.Credit: Getty Images

Directly south of the tourist-thronged Mala Strana district and rising from the west bank of the Vltava River, Petrin Hill is multiple playgrounds in one.

Most visitors head up on the funicular railway towards the observatory and rose garden at the top, but there’s a lot to be said for ambling around the quieter northern end of the hill. Here, you’ll encounter several statues in the woods and the 2000-plus mature fruit trees of the Seminary Garden.

Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada

Vancouver’s Stanley Park is popular among cyclists and joggers.Credit: Destination Vancouver

Dividing Vancouver Harbour from the Burrard Inlet, Stanley Park is an unquestioned tourist honeypot, featuring trees that are hundreds of years old, towering First Nations totem poles and beavers splashing in wetland lakes.

The traditional headspace-clearer, however, is the 10-kilometre stretch of the Seawall, which loops around the edge of the park. It’s one of the world’s great jogging routes, although it can also be walked or cycled, and there is a string of beaches along the way.

KL Forest Eco Park, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

One of the elevated walkways of the KL Forest Eco Park.Credit: Getty Images

Formerly known as the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve, the KL Forest Eco Park is a preserved swathe of tropical rainforest in the heart of the Malaysian capital.

Tourists tend to stick to the Canopy Walkway, which links viewing towers via suspension bridges, but the less obviously showy trails are quieter and offer good opportunities for spotting the butterflies and scampering macaques that live within the reserve.

City Botanic Gardens, Brisbane

A fig tree in Brisbane’s Botanic Gardens.Credit: Getty Images

At the bottom tip of the CBD as it is carved into a triangle by the Brisbane River, the City Botanic Gardens is perfect for quickly nipping into.

Locals all have their favourite spot – the avenue of weeping fig trees, the ornamental ponds, the grand 19th-century mahogany tree, the bamboo grove – but it’s easy to link them together on a stroll.