London 3-Parks Running Route

Hyde Park - Green Park - St. James' Park

Click here for route map 

Length: 6.82 km (4.2 miles), terrain flat

London Running Routes:
Best London Running Routes: Overview
Thames Embankment
Docklands-LimehouseRegent's Canal and Camden Town  
Hampstead Heath  
3-Parks Route: Hyde Park, Green Park, St. James' Park  
Regent's Park  
Hyde Park   
Chelsea
Heathrow Harmondsworth Moor  
Greenwich 
Richmond Park
Notting Hill
Victoria Park
Wimbledon Common Trail Run
Royal Docks/ExCeL Route 
Kew / Brentford Thames Run  
See the other running routes here.  

Thanks for the route idea, Claire, and thanks, Daggi, for the sunny pictures!

NOTE: This route stays on the east edge of Hyde Park. If you want to run the rest of the park, see the London Hyde Park Route article.

I know of no city with so many beautiful and varied parks as London. So what could be better than to combine a few of the nicest ones into one great run? This one will take us through the three parks located on the west side of central London: Hyde Park, Green Park and St. James'. The three are strung out like pearls through some of the most interesting neighborhoods in town.

Marble Arch

NOTE: see the Destinations Tips page for tips about spending your free time in this great town!
 
We'll start the run at Marble Arch, at the northeast corner of Hyde Park. This is where the busy shopping area of Oxford Street runs into Edgeware Road, and is serviced by various tube lines and buses.

If you stand right at the arch, you will still need to cross the street at Cumberland Gate to get into the park.

NOTE: If you're a fan of Banksy, the anarchic graffiti sprayer, he has an original work located at the video camera, down the stairs, at the foot of the arch!

Start of run: follow those guys on the right!

Once you set foot in the park, you'll see that a few paths fan-out from the entrance. Take the second one from the left, heading out through the lawn. This will lead you 600 meters right to the café at the east end of the Serpentine lake, one of the busiest running tracks in the city. You'll probably want to just put your feet up and enjoy the scene right here, but no such luck: let's keep going!

At the cafè, keep going straight down the little valley to the left, and take the first path as it curves to the left, going east.

Serpentine Café in the early morning light

This path takes you through one of the nicest flower gardens in the park, and ends in the park's southeast corner. Here, go to your right, crossing Knightsbridge Street through the triple-archways of Hyde Park Corner to the traffic island. You'll have to cross the next street to get to the little square dominated by the next arch, Wellington Arch. Run through the archway, and cross still another street to get over to Green Park.

Wellington's Arch on way to Green Park

In Green Park, remain on the right edge of the park, parallel to Constitution Hill. You might want to take the dirt path next to the paved sidewalk: there are fewer pedestrians there. The whole way now, after leaving Hyde Park, you are passing various veterans' memorials: for the British Artillery, the New Zealanders, the Asian- and African troops, and then the Canadians on the left side of the path.

In Green Park, gates at Buckingham Palace

The path ends at the ornate gates across from Buckingham Palace, on the right. Let's cross the street and run along the front of the palace now, looking at the guards, and with the Queen Victoria monument on the left. After running to the far end of the palace, you'll need to cross the street and continue towards the left. After crossing the 2 streets that go by the Victoria monument, you will enter St. James' Park along its southern edge, near Birdcage Walk.

At Buckingham Palace

This is one of my favorite parks in the world. Within its small confines, there is a lot to see: the long pond, the beautiful flower gardens, cottages, cafés. We'll loop the park, with the water to our left side the whole time. This south side of the pond has fewer visitors and there is less to do. When you get to the little bridge that spans the pond on your left, maybe go out onto it and look towards Whitehall in the distance, to the east, the British Army headquarters. The collection of towered buildings looks a bit like a fairy palace on the horizon, especially when lit up at night.

The Whitehall fairy palace in the evening

Keep running along the south side of the pond until you round it at the east end, across from Whitehall. The little cottage on the water's edge looks too picturesque to be sitting in the middle of a big city. This is the half-way point of the run.

NOTE: If you want to take a little extra detour to see Parliament, the River Thames and Big Ben, just follow the street that borders the south side of the park, Birdcage Walk, straight east an extra 3 blocks. It only adds an extra half-kilometer to the run.

Rounding the east end of the pond and heading west again, you'll find yourself on the most beautiful side of the park. The flowers are amazing here, and this is the place where most people come to sit, feed the ducks and hang out.

When you get back to the bridge that spans the pond, turn right and head out of the park on the right side. This will take us through the royal neighborhood of St. James before we get back into Green Park. Cross the Mall (the boulevard connecting Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square) and run straight and you will pass St. James' Palace on your left. St. James' was built by Henry VIII, and is the oldest royal palace, but not terribly pretty. Nowadays the princes normally use it.

St. James' Palace at night

Turn left at the end of the palace, on Pall Mall, and run past the palace sentries into the little square straight ahead. Stay to the right side of the square and run out along the right edge, to the right of Melwyn House. There is a pedestrian gate into Green Park there.

Melwyn House: keep to the right to get into Green Park

Once in the park, turn left and run just 50 meters until you can catch the path turning right to head out through the middle of the park. This will bring you back to the Hyde Park Corner end, across from Wellington's Arch again, where you have to cross the same 3 streets to get back into Hyde Park.

Once inside Hyde Park, head north, where you'll see the giant statue of Achilles. Keep to the left of the statue on the broad pathway lined with sycamores. This path keeps fairly close to loud Park Lane on the right, and beautiful Mayfair beyond it.

Achilles in Hyde Park. Keep on the path to the left

Keep running straight and in a few minutes you'll be back at Marble Arch, where you started.

Stockholm Djurgarden Running Route

Click here for route map 
Length: 11.5 km (7 miles), terrain flat

Note: I forgot to take my cell phone on this trip, so I had to run with my laptop to take the pictures!  

Stockholm running routes:
Stockholm 5 Islands route
Stockholm Djurgarden island park route
Kungsholmen Island loop route
For other running routes, see Route List

NOTE: see the Destinations Tips page for tips about spending your free time in this great town!
 
Djurgarden is Stockholm's green paradise for runners, bicyclists and hikers. It's an island 3 kilometers long (2 miles) and 1 km wide, with a flowing mixture of open fields, woods, endless fjord waterfront and countless old homes and museums. And it's easily reached by foot from the downtown. Djurgarden means "game preserve" and was once the royal hunting grounds.

Let's start at Nybroplan square, on the eastern side of downtown, easily reached using buses or the number 7 tram. The amazing Dramatic Theater, with its golden ornaments, dominates the east side of the square. Turn towards the docks along the south end of the square to start the run.

Theater at Nybroplan

Head out along the fjord, with the water on your right side, following the tram-tracks. The waterfront curves to the left and the street becomes Strandvägen, a wide tree-lined promenade. Keep going straight along the water. You'll notice a lot of old boats in various states of restoration: this is one of the many shores in Stockholm where the old-boat scene is in full bloom. After a while, you'll come to a bridge (with the horn-blowing viking) across the ever-narrowing fjord to Djurgarden island to the right.

Djurgarden houses in winter

Cross the bridge. You'll see the renaissance-styled Nordic Museum straight ahead and the strange-looking Vasa Museum right behind it, on the right.

NOTE: An alternative route, which avoids all traffic on Djurgarden island, is to run through the blue gates on the left side of the bridge and follow the path along the water (canal) down to the second or third bridge back to the north side again.

View towards Vasa Museum from Skeppsholmen island

Run straight along the street, Djurgardsvägen, past the museums. The Vasa Museum houses one of the most unfortunate ships in history. The Vasa was built to be Sweden's biggest warship in 1628, but it capsized and sank on its maiden voyage as soon it sailed out into the harbor. You can look in the museum windows at the impressive well-preserved remains, if you want to take a little detour.

Across the street you'll soon see the cool Biological Museum building, built in Viking style, like a giant wooden longhouse.

Keep running south on the road. The Skansen museum-village occupies the low hill to your left, with buildings brought here from all over Sweden. There are a few old-fashioned restaurants and cafés lining the street, too. This is what amusement areas looked like a hundred years ago.

After a few hundred meters, you'll pass the Gröna Lund amusement park on your left, but keep following the tram tracks. The tracks finally end by looping around a little hill with the Italian embassy on it, at the southern waterfront. From now on, there is no more car traffic.

Along the Djurgarden waterfront

There is a marina here, at the last tram stop. Run right up the main drive to the Waldemarsudde art museum villa, then go around the right side to get to the waterside path. Keep running east along the water now, with the water on your right side.

NOTE: This beginning part of the waterfront belongs to the Waldemarsudde museum, and is open to public access from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. If the gates are closed, then take the path marked Prinz Eugens Väg, which skirts the museum on the left, and hits the water at the next marina.

The gravel path at the water's edge now follows the waterfront for about 1.5 kilometers, until you hit the southeast corner of the Djurgarden island, after passing lots of old wooden houses, big villas, art museums and marinas.

View from Radmansbaken over the frozen fjord

After the little white lighthouse (Radmansbaken), the path follows the shore as it curves northwards along the east side of the island, with the main fjord in the distance.

Keep running northwards for just half a kilometer and cross the canal that separates it from the mainland at the little arched pedestrian bridge.

Heading back west along the Djurgarden canal

Start running westwards along the north side of the canal, (water on your left side) back towards town. Just keep to the path the whole way. At first it's all nature. Only the tall, ugly, squarish telecom tower off to the right disturbs the scene. After the next bridge at Djurgardsbrunn (was closed for repairs this last visit), some big houses begin to line the water. There are impressive villas, embassies, stone churches, a very nice neighborhood.

Another spot along the canal

After 3 kilometers running westwards along the north side of the island, the gravel path will rejoin Strandvägen, and you'll reach the bridge that we used to get to Djurgarden before. Now you just keep running straight along the water, following the tram tracks back to Nybroplan and the end of the journey.

Stockholm 5 Islands Running Route

Click here for route map 
Length: 6.5 km (4 miles), terrain flat

Note: I forgot to take my cell phone on this trip, so I had to run with my laptop to take the pictures! That's why you see my ear in half the pictures.

Stockholm running routes:
Stockholm 5 Islands route
Stockholm Djurgarden island park route
Kungsholmen Island loop route
For other running routes, see Route List

NOTE: see the Destinations Tips page for tips about spending your free time in this great town!
 
Stockholm ("Stick Island") sits scattered amidst a network of fjords and islands. Water and land seem to crash into each other everywhere you look. Like most coastal areas of Scandinavia, there is never a definite coastline, just a fascinating, gradually shifting mixture of land and water, with more land as you move inland.

Stockholm's fjord looks a bit like Sydney Harbour, with side-coves everywhere, but without the palm trees. What better way to discover it than to run the 5 islands that form its historic core? Even though we'll cover 5 islands, the run is fairly short, and it brings us to sights like the old town ("Gamla Stan"), the parliament, the royal palace, the original castle, the old navy headquarters island, and another castle island.

We'll start the run at the spot where the city center meets the first island, Helgeandsholmen, a tiny island occupied solely by the Swedish parliament, the Riksdag. Drottninggatan (Queen Street) runs south from the downtown to the Riksdag and goes over a pedestrian bridge to the island, splitting the parliament into two halves. Run south through the parliament, and on the other side of the building you cross the next bridge to the old town, Gamla Stan, on its own island. You'll see the huge royal palace rising above on the left.

Parliament, the pedestrian street goes through the arch behind the tree

But before we discover the maze of narrow old-town streets, turn right after the first building (the old mint), on Myntgatan, and head to the third island, Riddarholmen. You'll pass the old Riddarhuset palace building on the right. Then cross the busy street to run onto the next little island. Riddarholmen was the original administrative seat of the city, and there is a statue to the city's post-Viking founder, Birger Jarl.

The way up on Riddarholmen

The island is covered by a collection of various houses, buildings, fort-towers and the impressive church. The church is Stockholm's oldest building. Run uphill around the right side of the main (white) palace-building in front of you, and you'll come out on a terrace overlooking the fjord towards the west, where you can take in a great view. Now turn right down the alleyway and follow it past the round tower. It ends by sloping down to the waterfront path, where you turn left and run along the waterside below the terrace, with the city hall across the bay.

Riddarholmen: view from the terrace towards the city hall

Head back up the steps to the main square on the island and back out over the bridge to Gamla Stan again. We'll now do a loop through the old town. Gamla Stan is an intact and lively ensemble of old buildings. Only the northeast corner of the island was cleared out to build the gigantic royal palace. Everything else is still as it has been for centuries.

Run past the Riddarhuset palace again and now take the street that goes uphill diagonally to the right between the 2 Italian restaurants, Storkyrkobrinken. At the next crossing, Västerlanggatan, turn right and run down this pedestrian street with its shops and restaurants.

Gamla Stan, Västerlanggatan

At the end of the street, at the big public water well, follow the street as it curves to the left.

NOTE: I heartily recommend O'Leary's sports bar on the corner for a good meal and a good time. Even though it's a chain, you don't notice it in its character: Friendly staff, great burgers, a selection of wonderful beers, good barbeque sauces, it can't be beat. You can eat right at the bar, and watch a game at the same time. The Swedish founder had lived in Boston, and he has covered the walls with Boston team memorabilia.

Rising above you on the left is the heart of the old town. We'll go up and take a look. Across from the Gyldene Freden restaurant, follow the side street that goes uphill to the left. Follow the narrow Prästgatan (Prieststreet) alley as it takes you through the heart of the neighborhood. You'll soon pass the German church on the right, St. Gertrude.

Like most northern cities, Stockholm has it's traditional German Hansa quarter, where the merchants had their houses and warehouses. St. Gertrude sits atop the center of the island, with a motto hanging over the quiet churchyard entrance, "Fürchtet Gott! Ehret den König!" ("Fear God! Honor the King!").

St. Gertrude's

Follow Prästgatan one more block, then turn right and run the one block to Stortorget (Great Square). There are some cool restaurants and pubs in the old houses here, and a massive old drinking water well. It's also bordered on the north side by the Swedish Academy of Sciences in the old exchange building. This is where the Nobel Prizes are handed out.

Swedish Academy of Sciences at Stortorget

Run out past the academy on the left side and in a block you'll pass the cathedral (Storkyrkan, or "Great Church") on the right. Notice the antique Swedish telephone booth on the right, too. Amazing!

Just past the church, run straight into the royal palace compound, and turn right into the yard bounded by the curving arcades. The palace guards with their white fur hats look like the guard at the Wizard of Oz's castle. They just happened to be changing the guard when I ran by. Run past the row of cannons, right towards the guard in his sentry house at the front door, then turn right, leave the courtyard, and run downhill to the left to the water.

Royal palace: changing of the guard

You'll definitely need to come back to Gamla Stan in the evenings and wander the rest of the little streets.

Run the one block on Slottsbacken to the water. Cross the busy street (Skeppsbron) at the waterside to run along the water itself, towards the left. Here you can see the windjammer across the fjord at Skeppsholmen, where we will now run to. The ship is used as a youth hostel. What a great idea!

Youth hostel windjammer with Skeppsholmen island

Run north along the water and you can view the royal palace from the other side, rising up on the left. They were holding a cross-country ski race around palace on my first day there.

Keep going across the bridge to the mainland. The tidal-water rips right through a rapids in this spot. Turn right at the end of the bridge, keeping the water on your right. The shore curves to the right, passing the Grand Hotel, then the National Museum. Now an old metal bridge leads you to island number four, Skeppsholmen (Ship Island).

Stay along the water, running past the youth hostel windjammer. Skeppsholmen is covered with old admiralty buildings, the traditional naval headquarters of this old seafaring land. In a couple of minutes you'll come to the bridge to island number five, tiny Kastellholmen (Castle Island). Head across the bridge and up the little hill to the castle-like building at the top, with its great view over the fjord.

Bridge to Kastellholmen

Now you turn around and head back towards the parliament again, but stay with the water to your right, continuing to round the island counter-clockwise.

View of Gröna Lund amusement park from Kastellholmen

Just past the ferry landing, the waterfront becomes a marina and workshop dedicated to restoring boats. This is one of the things that I love about Stockholm, and every Scandinavian town, for that matter. Every ship that ever caught the fancy of a Stockholmer (and that's lots of them) has ended up here as somebody's restoration project: windjammers, fishing boats, old ferries, mine layers, steamboats, rowboats, you name it. Some rotten old wrecks were adopted just before they sank of their own initiative, and it probably would have been better that way. They have mutated into black holes of endless labor and expense for their new owners/lovers/slaves. Nevertheless, piles of timber are continually sawed-up on site waiting for the next projects to begin. I would love to just give a hand.

Just before coming back to the bridge back to the mainland, you'll see a few bunkers dug into the rock along your left side, left over from some past wartime zeal.

Now, retrace your steps, following your way along the shore, with the water on your left side. But at the first bridge back to Gamla Stan just keep running straight. This will take you back to the starting point, there at the foot of Drottninggatan at the Riksdag. You'll pass the center's main square, Kungstradgarden, then the opera house, running along the rapids towards the Riksdag on the left side.