Alexandra Park & Palace

## Alexandra Park and Palace: A London Oasis with History and Activities

Alexandra Park and Palace, often referred to as Ally Pally, offer a delightful escape from the bustling city center. Nestled in north London, it combines beautiful green spaces with a historic landmark, making it a great destination for a variety of interests.

**The Park:**

* **Green Flag Award Winner:** This sprawling 200-acre park boasts a variety of landscapes, including meadows, woodlands, and a boating lake. It's a perfect spot for a picnic, a leisurely stroll, or engaging in outdoor activities like frisbee or running.
* **Family-Friendly:** Playgrounds, a paddling pool (open seasonally), and a cafe with outdoor seating make it a great place to bring the kids.
* **Panoramic Views:** Ally Pally sits on a hill, offering breathtaking panoramic views of London's skyline on a clear day.

**The Palace:**

* **A Historic Landmark:** The Grade II listed Alexandra Palace, nicknamed "The People's Palace," is a stunning Victorian building with a rich history.
* **Things to Do:** The Palace houses exhibitions, events, a theatre, and a restaurant. You can also enjoy the impressive architecture and explore the surrounding gardens.
* **Mixed Reviews:** While some find the Palace beautiful and interesting, others might find the interior a bit dated [Tripadvisor reviews].

**Other Activities:**

* **Alexandra Park also offers:**
* A pitch and putt course
* Go Ape treetop adventure course
* An all-year ice rink
* Farmers markets (seasonal)

**Things to Keep in Mind:**

* **Getting There:** The park is easily accessible by public transport, but the Palace itself is a bit of a walk uphill from the nearest station.
* **Limited Palace Opening Hours:** Double-check the opening hours of the Palace before your visit, as they can vary depending on the day and any events happening.
* **Playground Reviews:** While the park offers green space for kids to run around, some reviews mention the playground equipment itself could be improved [LondonDucklings review].

**Overall:**

Alexandra Park and Palace offer a lovely green escape with something for everyone. Whether you're seeking a historical adventure, a family outing, or simply a relaxing day in nature, Ally Pally has something to offer. Just be prepared for the walk uphill to the Palace and potentially limited opening hours.

Sunday garden Market. Great plants and troughs. Inside amazing seeds and garden accessories. There's also a mini cafe , Atmosphere was great and staff extremely helpful and friendly.

I love this park and all the surroundings. It's a really big park and it's a nice long walk to the top. There is Alexandra Palace with it's beautiful architecture, big events inside like live music, bands, ice skating, sport games. There is a lake, playgrounds, toilets, a cafe and close there are 2 big garden centre. I love this park in every season. Always people walking around with dogs, family, friends and in summer is full of life near the pub at the top.

Great green space which rewards any visitors with stunning views of London from high up. It’s also the birthplace of BBC broadcast television in 1936.

It's a great park! There are a couple of parkings but one of them was closed when we visited. You can pay for the whole day and viw both the palace and the park. There is a cafe, playground and also toilets that are free of charge. You can also rent a boat to sail in the small pond, which seemed like great fun for kids. There is also another activity called Go Ape, which is suitable for both adults and older kids. The park itself is huge with stunning views. We had a very nice walk!

Great view of London and beyond. The W3 from Finsbury Park will get you there.

Great place to walk, drink, picnic or whatever you choose.

When we went to the pond we saw little baby ducklings. It was so sweet as they would all swim as a pack and they would come close then get scared.

Very atmospheric venue with amazing views!

Very beautiful place, beautiful views,peaceful, vibrant 😊

big park with great views of the city

Best view in North London! This place is furnished with pub, theatre, pizzeria, golf camp, skate park and a beautiful lake were you can find a lot of animals like Swan geese and ducks. A quiet place to be with whoever you want to spend a nice evening.

Lovely park with plenty of options for different activities, including the all-year open ice-rink, a playground, a skate park, the cute boating lake, an adventure park, a garden centre with a lovely cafe, a pub with a view and huge green areas for football and playing with your dog. Not to mention the Sunday market which is a gem.

Great experience! I went for the Sunday Farmer's Market, which was small but interesting, and then stayed to have a look at the park, since I'd never been. It's beautiful and very relaxing, plenty of happy dogs, families and people reading books in the sun. From the palace at the top of the park, you can see the City with the Shard in the distance. They also seen to have a calendar of events organised, and an indoors ice rink. I'm pretty sure I'll be back!

Lovely walk through the Grove and up to the Palace and the lake.

Astonishing view from the "top", many activities for kids, a perfect place for a quite walk

We visited simply to explore the site and the area. The site is relatively easy to find; keep ascending from the station.
The views were very good (despite the cold mist) and the site would make a very nice park visit on a summer's day.
The venue was being used, so busy in some parts and empty in others.
The grounds are very nice - lake and the general areas as well as good opportunities to look for signs from the old station once on site.

The most beautiful place for a picnic with family and a great place to see the beauty of the city Great fun all around Highly recommended 😀 😊 👍🏻

Great Palace for family fun or even just chilling out alone. Great views. Free parking. Nice play area for children with sand pit. The lake is nice for watching the ducks and boat trips. Has a skate board bit with ramps and basket ball courts. The woods are nice to walk through. Go Ape looks like great fun. Cafe has plenty of food and drink options. Lovely views

Ally Pally is a wonderful place. It's history is fantastic, the theatre is amazing, the ice skating is great- used in many films- the park is lovey to walk through and the views of London from the top are spectacular.

It's a great destination for a huge amount of events, from concerts, to weddings and darts to snooker.

There's pitch and putt, and go ape as well as rowing, a skateboarding Park, children's playground and fantastic walks.

Anyone in North London knows how great the place is and everyone should visit

Been coming here since I was a kid, absolutely love this place, amazing views and beautiful walks. Not to mention loads of events.