Richmond

Richmond feels more like a self-contained country town than part of London, its riverside green stretching along the Thames past Georgian houses and boathouses. Richmond Park, the largest of the city's royal parks, is home to several hundred free-roaming red and fallow deer and offers a protected view of St Paul's Cathedral from King Henry's Mound, over ten miles away. The view from Richmond Hill itself, looking down over a bend in the Thames, is one of the few views in England protected by its own Act of Parliament. It's an easy, scenic escape from central London by train or riverboat.