A Walk in the Park Trivia Quiz

Answer: True

The years between 1820 and 1855 saw New York become more crowded, with the city expanding to cover Manhattan Island. Cemeteries became popular places to find a few moment's peace away from the noise of the city. It was decided to create a great public park. The original 700 acre (283 hectare) plot of land, purchased from landholders for the cost of $5 million, was added to in later years. The vision for Central Park was for it to become a grand park similar to those of Europe and the UK. This vision emerged with the collaboration of a number of specialists in their fields including a master gardener, architect, engineer and a politician. When purchased, the land was used by squatters who even raised livestock in the precinct. Residents were moved out, ten millions cartload of new, fertile soil was transported in, the planting of four million trees and shrubs began, and the swampy areas were drained.

Within Central Park's now 843 acres are seven artificial bodies of water. The Jacqueline Onassis Reservoir covers almost 43 hectares (106 acres) and is more than 12m (40 feet) deep in parts. Other bodies of water include Harlem Meer, named in honour of NYC's original European settlers and The Pond. Central Park is more than just trees and lakes though. Within its boundary you can ice skate in winter, swim in summer, play baseball, take the kids to one of the playgrounds, jog or cycle around the miles of paths, eat at a restaurant, go to one of four zoos or enjoy a show at the outdoor amphitheatre. You can also see one of three obelisks called Cleopatra's Needle - the other two are in London and Paris.

Answer: Hiroshima

The first atomic bomb used as an offensive weapon landed on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6th, 1945. Landing on a business and residential district, it's estimated that 140,000 people perished either directly or indirectly from the bomb's effects. Built on a field flattened by the bomb, Hiroshima Peace Park contains numerous memorials dedicated to the victims of the bombing. The purposes of the park also include reminding the world of the consequences of nuclear warfare and to promote peace in the world.

An annual ceremony takes place on the morning of August 6th to commemorate the tragedy. Later on the same day, lanterns carrying messages of peace are launched on Hiroshima's Motoyasu River.

Answer: Phoenix Park, Dublin

Lying within four kilometres of Dublin's city centre is Phoenix Park, a walled park which has had a resident herd of wild fallow deer within its walls since the 17th century. The park was part of a land grant given to the Knights Hospitaller in the 12th century. Charles II created a Royal Hunting Park in the 1660s and the area was walled off from the surrounds to enclose the deer and pheasants. Almost 100 years later in 1745, the park was opened to the general populace. Along with the resident deer and pheasants you'll find Dublin Zoo, one of the oldest zoos in the world.

The Papal Cross in the photo was erected in 1979 to celebrate the visit of Pope John Paul II. As impressive as the cross is, its 35m (115 ft) height is dwarfed by the Wellington Monument in the park.

At 62m (203 ft), it's the tallest obelisk in Europe. All this and much more can be found in Phoenix Park's 707 hectares (1,750 acres). The park's name is an Anglicised version of the Irish 'fionn uisce' which means 'clear water'.

Answer: Antoni Gaudi

Situated on Carmel Hill in Barcelona, Park Güell opened in 1926 after a couple of decades of development. Initially planned as residential area envisioned by Eusebi Güell and Antoni Gaudi, this vision never took off with only two houses being built. Antoni Gaudi and his family moved into one house while the park as it is now took shape.

The park now has acres of trees and walkways punctuated by the wondrous architecture of Gaudi. A hint of what's inside the park is seen in the dragon in the picture. The rest of the park has numerous features such as a fountain, covered walkways and buildings designed in Gaudi's distinctive style.

Answer: Smoke a cigarette

Lumphini Park is a welcome respite from the harried pace of Bangkok. Giving Thais and tourists an open space in which to relax, the park was created by King Rama VI after he set aside some of his royal estate. Established on the outskirts of the bustling city in the 1920s, it's now firmly in the middle of Bangkok's sprawl.

Walking, riding your bike between 10am and 3pm, birdwatching, taking a boat on to the lake and other activities such as visiting libraries and eating at food outlets can all be enjoyed in the park, but you can't smoke within its boundaries and you can't take your dog in there either. The park derived its name from Lumbini, Nepal, the birthplace of Buddha.

Answer: F1 Grand Prix

Albert Park sits just a couple of kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. Its 225 hectares (560 acres) includes Albert Park lake which covers 49 ha (120 acres). Originally part of the Yarra River's delta, the land was drained to enable the new settlement of Melbourne to be housed, graze animals, grow crops, go hunting and having military training. Not long after all this activity was begun, the park was officially set aside as an urban parkland and named after the spouse of the reigning Queen Victoria, Prince Albert. Albert Park Lake was created from one of the region's original lagoons in the 1870s. The park is home to an array of wildlife including water birds such as black swans and freshwater cormorants.

Along with sporting and recreation facilities such as sporting ovals, golf course, walking track, sailing on the lake and picnic tables, the park has hosted the Australian Grand Prix as part of the F1 circuit since 1996. There was an Australian Grand Prix held in the park in the 1950s but it wasn't an F1 race. Albert Park hosted that race in the 1950s before it moved to Phillip Island's race track.

Answer: Luxembourg Garden

The Luxembourg Garden had its origins in the mind of Marie Medici who longed for a structure to remind her of her former home in Venice. The widow of Henry IV of France, she commissioned a palace and fountain to be built on the site of the hotel du Luxembourg. From this, the palace and garden acquired their name. The park was established in a style familiar from her Venetian days with 2,000 elm trees taking pride of place. Only eight hectares when the gardens began, it expanded to forty hectares during the French Revolution, only to lose land during Paris' reconstruction which left the garden covering 23 hectares (57 acres) at the beginning of the 21st century.

Statues, over one hundred of them, are scattered around the lawns and terraces of the Luxembourg Gardens. You'll also find a puppet theatre, a fruit orchard, a playground and a vintage carousel. The Medici Fountain, a creation of a Florentine fountain maker/engineer, dates back to 1630. The Luxembourg Garden had suffered from neglect by the early 1800s, but Napoleon Bonaparte ordered its restoration.

Answer: Military base

The Presidio of San Francisco began life in 1776 when New Spain used the point as a military stronghold. This passed to Mexico after its independence, but became part of the USA in 1848. The US Congress voted to discontinue the Presidio's military life under a military reduction programme in 1989. It was used by the US military from 1848 until 1991 when the last of the Presidio's troops left for Desert Storm. The Presidio became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is managed by The Presidio Trust which has become self-funding via residential and commercial leases within the park.

Unusual amongst the United States' park system, the Presidio has many permanent residents living amidst the woods, rolling landscape, four creeks, tidal wetlands, museums and other features of its 1,480 acres (599 ha).

Answer: Yes

There once was a zoo, complete with polar bears, but it closed in 1997. A Children's Farmyard closed in 2011.

Unlike many parks in major cities, Stanley Park has evolved rather than being planned. A piece of natural wilderness, the region has been inhabited by people for 3,000 years. The last resident left the park in 1958, decades after the park was officially opened. At just over 1,000 acres (405 ha), Stanley Park holds many attractions such as a swimming pool, aquarium, sporting facilities, a 22km (13.7 mi) long seawall which is used by walkers, cyclists, skaters and others, a sporting oval and about half a million trees.

Stanley Park is almost completely surrounded by the ocean and its famed seawall (in the photo) gives many tourists and Vancouver's residents many hours of pleasure. By the beginning of the 21st century, the seawall was 22 km long. Its construction began in 1931 as a 9km long project, its usage and popularity dictating its extension over the decades. All these attractions and more resulted in the readers of website TripAdvisor voting Stanley Park as the 'top park in the entire world' in 2014. Central Park came second. Nice going, Vancouver.

Answer: Rotten Row

Rotten Row in London's Hyde Park was constructed at the end of the 17th century on the orders of William III. Having just moved his court to Kensington Palace, he sought at safe pathway through Hyde Park to St. James Palace. Hyde Park was a haven for highwaymen in those days, so to give further protection from them, the avenue was lit with 300 oil lamps, creating England's first artificially illuminated roadway. Assigned the name of Route du Roi (French for King's Road), it quickly became Rotten Row, a name which has stuck until now. The name Rotten Row can be found in other places in the UK but it usually refers to less salubrious surroundings, often ramshackle estates which may or may not have been infested with rats.

In the 1800s, Rotten Row became the place for the more affluent Londoners to meet, ride their horses or be seen in their carriages. The late 1800s saw the road properly constructed as a bridle path, its base made of bricks and then topped with sand. These days it's not often used by the public - stabling horses in London is not cheap - but the Household Cavalry (the monarch's official bodyguards) exercise their horses on Rotten Row.

Hyde Park is joined to Kensington Gardens but they are separate entities. Together, they cover 253 hectares (625 acres). Established by Henry VIII, the park came into being as an enclosed deer park and was a private hunting ground for the monarch. James I opened to the park to the well-heeled of London at certain times, and Charles I opened the park to all Londoners. The natural park began to be turned into the groomed park we know today in the 1730s, when landscaping, including the creation of the Serpentine, an artificial lake, was started.