Global Parks: Green Spaces to Adore

Parks are places of refuge, exploration and reflection. They can help you escape the daily grind and open you up to learning more. Around the world, parks take various shapes and sizes, with different themes, whether centered on nature, art, discovery, serenity or recreation. From coral reefs in the Adriatic Sea to a sculpturefilled thoroughfare in Colombia, the parks on this list each have something unique about them that makes them especially appealing destinations to add to the usual travel itinerary.

- EILEEN FALKENBERG-HULL

01 Bigger Is Better 
Balboa Park
SAN DIEGO

This California park is bigger than New York's Central Park and Chicago's Millennium Park combined. It is home to 65 miles of trails, six museums and the San Diego Zoo on 1,200 acres of land. Visitors can climb 125 steps to the top of the California Tower to get a unique view of the city. Tickets are required to visit some attractions.

02 Treasure From Tragedy
Trappist Monastery Provincial Heritage Park
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA

In 1983, a fire destroyed the abandoned former home of 50 monks from the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance. The provincial government stepped in to save what was left, turning the area into a park that now contains the St. Norbert Arts Centre, gardens, a greenhouse and the World Peace Pagoda. Monastery structures are now home to annual Shakespeare in the Ruins performances.

03 Urban Oasis
The High Line
NEW YORK CITY

On the west side of Manhattan is a combination elevated linear park, greenway and trail created from a disused spur of the New York Central Railroad. It runs 1.45 miles from the Hudson Yards development to the city's Meatpacking District, winding by Chelsea Market, over traffic and near historic buildings.

04 Exaggerated Dimension