Inaugurated by Marie de' Medici, the park - one of the largest in the city - is a profoundly reconciling place to indulge in a relaxed stroll in the manner of a flâneur among the rich vegetation, fountains and silent population of stone statues of famous people who just don't seem to want to leave this enchanting place.

The city's largest and oldest park is a landmark not only for those who want to get away from the hectic pace of the metropolis by relaxing under the trees and by the lake or doing sports, but also the scene of numerous concerts and events as well as colourful harangues - on Sunday mornings in Speakers' Corner - on the most diverse topics: from politics to culture, religion and tea.

Literally 'garden of animals', Tiergarten is the largest green space in the city: a large English-style park where you can pleasantly lose yourself among the many walking and cycling paths that meander through meadows, woods and ponds or where you can stop to meet the zoo guests (assuming you can overcome your impatience with captivity).

Iconic green presence within the dense built fabric, amidst soaring skyscrapers, cyclopean advertising signs and congested traffic Central Park is a rectangle that has nothing natural about it, having been designed from scratch as an engineering feat in an area previously occupied by marshy swamps: here, amidst hills and man-made lakes, between film sets and running tracks, the frenetic New York life flows, in a longed-for break from the chaos of the metropolis.

Similar to New York's Central Park in its rectangular shape and size - although actually larger - the park offers cycle paths, sports facilities, ponds, gardens and museums - including the California Academy of Sciences designed by Renzo Piano - as well as ample space for biodiversity appreciation: among the many animal species here, a herd of American buffaloes also happily roam the grassy expanses.

The Imperial Palace East Gardens, the only part of the complex that is always accessible to the public, is a peaceful oasis in the heart of the capital. In addition to ancient Shogun-era relics, it is home to an astonishing variety of flowers and trees among Japanese and Western gardens, with an infinity of colour nuances that change with the seasons.

Surrounded by the aggressive presence of the skyscrapers of the business district, Lumphini Park - named after the birthplace of the Buddha in Nepal - today is Bangkok's most important green lung with an artificial lake, wooded areas, palm and bamboo gardens: here it is possible to re-establish a dialogue with nature that, amidst the congested and teeming streets of the Thai metropolis, seems to have been forgotten.

Commissioned by the wealthy entrepreneur and intellectual Eusebi Güell, who was impressed by the phenomenon of garden-cities of Anglo-Saxon origin, the park is the only built work of a larger urban plan to create a green suburb in the hills on the outskirts of Barcelona. The park, dotted with buildings in sinuous, primordial shapes and bright colours, is an enthusiastic hymn to life and an example of the balance, between the dreamy and the playful, of architecture and nature.

Inserted into the metropolitan jungle as the city's largest green lung, the park, which houses bicycle paths, sports fields, spaces for events and shows, public buildings, training centres, museums distributed in a lush setting of forests, tropical plants and winding paths, is a declaration of love to the Brazilian territory where the architecture - including works designed by Oscar Niemeyer - blends perfectly into the landscapes designed by Roberto Burle Marx.

The park located in the centre of Singapore and adjacent to the Marina Reservoir was designed to enhance the urban quality of the Asian metropolis by leveraging green infrastructure. With its extraordinary variety of flora and fauna and astonishing structures - from 'supertrees' to greenhouses - it is a symbol of the cultural change undertaken by the city towards a more sustainable future, as well as a fairy-tale place to rediscover a captivating dialogue with nature.

Located in Nørrebro, one of the city's most multi-ethnic and socially conflictual neighbourhoods, the park consists of three main areas: the square, the market and a vast green space with hills, plantings and areas for relaxation and sports. To celebrate the value of cultural diversity, many elements of street furniture - from benches, to litter bins, manhole covers and swings - have been imported from all over the world and coexist here peacefully in a dynamic and proudly diverse place.