The Open Guide to London: the free London guide

Small but perfectly formed, Queen's Park is a great place to hang out, especially if you've got kids. It's amazing how much is packed into the space. As well as grassed areas with mature trees, there's pitch and putt, tennis courts, a mini-children's farm with goats, rabbits and chickens, petanque, gardens and even a woodland walk - which somehow manages to achieve a genuinely natural feel despite being only about 30m wide. The huge playground includes adventure climbing stuff, a giant sand pit for the under-6s, and a paddling pool in summer.

Special events include plays, story-telling and bouncy castles for children in the summer holidays, occasional music on the bandstand on Sunday afternoons, and Queen's Park day - an annual mega-event on a September Sunday with entertainments, food, community stalls and fun. But sometimes things just happen spontaneously, such as a huge crowd gathering to watch a capoeira group who just happened to rehearse on the main lawn one day last year.

The park is owned and maintained by the Corporation of London, and the visibility of their wardens maintains a safe atmosphere.

At the time of writing (April 2004) the cafe is closed for rebuilding and expansion, but when it re-opens a good selection of hot dishes, sandwiches, salads, home-made cakes and ice cream (local firm Disotto's in summer) will be on sale. For the moment, if you want to eat, it's probably worth taking a five minute stroll to the now seriously trendy Salusbury Road, with its restaurants, delis and gift shops.