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Holland Park and the Kyoto Garden: 2026 Opening Times

Published By Travel Team
Holland Park and the Kyoto Garden: 2026 Opening Times

Holland Park is free, opens at 07:30 and closes around dusk, and the Kyoto Garden inside it has no separate ticket. From Holiday Inn Kensington Forum it's a 32-minute walk to the Kyoto Garden. The tube saves little: High Street Kensington is one Circle line stop away, then still 21 minutes on foot.

Last verified: 8 October 2026.

This guide is written from the Holiday Inn London – Kensington Forum at 97 Cromwell Road. Holland Park is run by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, not The Royal Parks, so its rules and hours differ from Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Facts below come from RBKC's Holland Park page, Opera Holland Park, the Design Museum and TfL, checked on the date above. Walking times were measured on a routing tool the same day.

Holland Park at a glance
Entry Free, including the Kyoto Garden
Opens 07:30 every day
Closes Around dusk. The time is posted at every entrance, and some gates shut up to 20 minutes early
Address Ilchester Place, London W8 6LU
Size 54 acres, the borough's largest park
Run by Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Dogs Not allowed in the Kyoto Garden or the playgrounds; on leads in the woodlands and formal gardens

What time does Holland Park open and close?

Holland Park opens at 07:30 and closes around dusk. RBKC's Holland Park page says the park "opens from 7.30am until dusk", that closing times "are displayed at all entrances", and that "some gates may close up to 20 minutes ahead of the advertised closing time". RBKC doesn't publish a closing-time table.

RBKC's own listings don't agree on the detail: its family information page says "7.30am until 30 minutes before dusk". The safe plan is to be heading for a gate half an hour before sunset. The Kyoto Garden has no hours of its own; it follows the park.

That's different from Kensington Gardens, which opens at 06:00 and publishes exact closing times by date, and from Hyde Park, which stays open until midnight.

How do you get to Holland Park from Holiday Inn Kensington Forum?

Walking from Holiday Inn Kensington Forum to the Kyoto Garden takes 32 minutes; by tube it is a 3-minute walk, one Circle line stop to High Street Kensington, then 21 minutes on foot

Walk. The Kyoto Garden is 2,375 metres, about 32 minutes, from the hotel door on the shortest route, measured on OpenStreetMap's walking router on 8 October 2026. Following the main roads instead (west along Cromwell Road, north up Earl's Court Road, then across Kensington High Street into the park) is 2,471 metres, about 33 minutes.

The tube barely helps. Gloucester Road station is 270 metres from the lobby, and High Street Kensington is one stop away on the Circle line only, according to TfL's route data. On the District line you'd change at Earl's Court. Our South Kensington station guide lists this autumn's line closures. From High Street Kensington station it's still 1,537 metres, about 21 minutes, to the Kyoto Garden. Add the walk to Gloucester Road and the wait for a train, and you've saved very little.

Route to the Kyoto Garden Distance on foot Time
Walk from 97 Cromwell Road (shortest) 2,375 m About 32 min
Walk via Cromwell Road, Earl's Court Road and Kensington High Street 2,471 m About 33 min
Tube: Gloucester Road → High Street Kensington (Circle line), then walk 270 m + 1,537 m About 3 min + train + 21 min
From Holland Park station (Central line), if you're coming from central London 926 m About 12 min

Buses 9, 27, 28, 49 and C1 stop at "The Design Museum" stop beside the park's Kensington High Street entrance, per TfL. The Kensington High Street, Ilchester Place, Duchess of Bedford Walk and North Abbotsbury Road entrances have level access; the Holland Park Road and Abbotsbury Road South entrances are on a steep slope.

What is the Kyoto Garden?

The Kyoto Garden is a Japanese garden that the Kyoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry built and gave to Kensington and Chelsea for the Japan Festival 1991. That festival marked the centenary of the Japan Society in Britain. The Prince of Wales and the Crown Prince of Japan opened it on 17 September 1991, according to the plaque recorded by London Remembers. Some pages, including part of RBKC's own site, give 1992; the plaque says 1991.

The garden is built around a waterfall and a koi pond, with maples, stone lanterns, a stone water basin and a bridge across the pond. RBKC says it was designed and built "by an eminent Japanese garden designer and his team". Dogs aren't allowed in it.

Is it worth visiting? Yes. In autumn the maples turn orange, as in the cover photo, taken on 8 October 2023. It's a garden to sit in rather than an attraction to tick off, so pair it with the rest of the park or the Design Museum at the south entrance.

The Fukushima Garden

Next to the Kyoto Garden is a second, quieter Japanese garden. Its plaque says it "was opened on 24 July 2012 to commemorate the heartfelt gratitude of the Japanese people to the British people for their support following the natural disaster that struck Fukushima, Japan on 11 March 2011", and asks visitors to respect it "as a place for quiet contemplation".

Where are the peacocks in Holland Park?

A peacock with its tail folded on the lawn of the Kyoto Garden in Holland Park

Holland Park has wild peafowl, but no one publishes where they gather, and there are fewer than there were. In 2025 the Friends of Holland Park reported "the dwindling peafowl in the park" and said new birds would arrive in late spring, "but they will only survive if people stop feeding them". The photo above was taken in the Kyoto Garden in 2019.

Feeding the peacocks does NOT help them: RBKC asks visitors not to feed any wildlife in its parks, and the Friends say people who keep ignoring the posters will be fined. Look, photograph, and keep the snacks in the bag.

What else is there to see in Holland Park?

Holland House ruins

Holland House began in 1605 as Cope Castle, the Jacobean mansion of Sir Walter Cope. On 27 September 1940, 22 incendiary bombs hit it in a ten-hour Blitz raid, and only the east wing and most of the library survived. The front terrace is now the backdrop to the park's open-air theatre, and the surviving east wing holds a hostel.

Opera Holland Park

Opera Holland Park performs in a canopied open-air theatre in front of the Holland House ruins. The 2026 season, its 30th, ran from 26 May to 8 August and is over. The 2027 operas are announced: Simon Boccanegra, The Pirates of Penzance, Norma (in concert), La rondine and Le nozze di Figaro. Dates will follow.

Playgrounds and the Ecology Centre

The free adventure playground is for ages 5 to 14, with a zip-wire, swings and accessible equipment. The under-5s play area is closed for refurbishment from 12 October to the end of November 2026. The Ecology Centre beside the adventure playground runs walks, talks and holiday activities.

Food and drink

Holland Park Café (Ilchester Place) opens daily at 08:00 and closes 30 minutes before the park. The Belvedere, an Italian restaurant inside the park, serves dinner Tuesday to Sunday and lunch at weekends; it's closed on Mondays. After the gates shut, diners get in through the Abbotsbury Road car-park gate.

The Design Museum

The Design Museum is at 224–238 Kensington High Street, next to the park's south entrance. Its collection display, Designer Maker User, is free; other exhibitions are paid. It's open 10:00–17:00 Monday to Thursday and 10:00–18:00 Friday to Sunday, and closed all day on Tuesday 13 October 2026. It's about 24 minutes on foot from the hotel (1,812 m).

Good to know before you go

  • No cycling. Cyclists must dismount and walk.
  • No barbecues or fires, no tents or gazebos, and drones need permission.
  • Dogs go on leads in the woodlands and formal gardens, and aren't allowed in the Kyoto Garden or the playgrounds.
  • Toilets: accessible toilets are at the Stable Yard (with a Changing Places toilet) and at the adventure playground.
  • Parking: the Abbotsbury Road car park is pay by phone, £3.70 an hour, 07:30–18:30. If you're staying with us, hotel parking is £35 a day; on-street spaces near the park are PayByPhone only, and our Kensington parking warning explains why QR codes on signs are a scam.
  • The Ice House is a small gallery with exhibitions from April to September, so it's normally closed in autumn.

Is Holland Park part of Kensington?

Yes. Holland Park has a W8 Kensington postcode, and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea owns and runs it. The surrounding Holland Park district is part of Kensington too.

Making a day of it from the hotel

The park opens at 07:30. Breakfast at the hotel runs 06:30–10:30 on weekdays and 07:00–11:00 at weekends, so you can eat and still be at the Kyoto Garden soon after the gates open. Walk out via the Design Museum, have lunch at the park café, and come back before dusk. With children, a family room sleeps four, and the adventure playground is free. For another park closer to the hotel, Kensington Gardens and the Albert Memorial are about 19 minutes away on foot.

FAQs

Is Holland Park free?

Yes. Holland Park is free to enter, and so are the Kyoto Garden, the Fukushima Garden and the adventure playground.

What time does Holland Park open and close?

It opens at 07:30 and closes around dusk. The closing time is posted at each entrance, and some gates shut up to 20 minutes early, so plan to leave half an hour before sunset.

Is Kyoto Garden free to enter?

Yes. There's no separate ticket; the Kyoto Garden is part of the free park and keeps the park's hours. Dogs aren't allowed in it.

Is Kyoto Garden worth visiting?

Yes, for a quiet half-day paired with the rest of Holland Park and the Design Museum. In autumn the Japanese maples turn orange.

Where are the peacocks in Holland Park?

Holland Park has wild peafowl, but their numbers have dwindled and there's no fixed spot to find them. Please don't feed them: RBKC asks visitors not to feed any wildlife.

Is Holland Park part of Kensington?

Yes. It has a W8 postcode and is owned and run by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

How do I get to Holland Park from Holiday Inn Kensington Forum?

Walk: about 32 minutes to the Kyoto Garden, west along Cromwell Road and north up Earl's Court Road. The tube (one Circle line stop from Gloucester Road to High Street Kensington) still leaves a 21-minute walk.

Is there opera in Holland Park in 2026?

Not any more. Opera Holland Park's 2026 season ran from 26 May to 8 August. The 2027 operas are announced, with dates to come.

Sources & further reading

  • Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea — Holland Park page, family information listings, park rules, feeding wildlife
  • London Remembers — Japanese Garden (Kyoto Garden and Fukushima Garden plaques)
  • The Friends of Holland Park — horticulture and wildlife report 2025
  • Opera Holland Park — 2026 season, 2027 season announcement, how to find us
  • Design Museum — plan your visit
  • Transport for London — Circle line route data; bus stops on Kensington High Street
  • Wikipedia — Holland House (history)

Images: Kyoto Garden (8 October 2023) by Bryn Holmes (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Wikimedia Commons; peacock in the Kyoto Garden (8 April 2019) by Marathon (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Wikimedia Commons. Resized for the web. Route figure: Holiday Inn Kensington Forum.

Compiled by the Holiday Inn Kensington Forum Travel Team. Last verified 8 October 2026.