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ITALY is, in my opinion, the greatest country to visit in Europe. It's got everything you could ever want from a holiday , along with some of the best food in the world. Sadly, getting there is expensive and can't really be done on a simple day off work , although I'm often tempted to give it a go when I'm in desperate need of a break.

Luckily for me, there are places where I can go to get a taste of la dolce vita, without having to leave the UK, or without having to pay so much as an entry fee, let alone airfare. One of those is the Hampstead pergola and hill garden in London, which plenty of others have likened to villas in Tuscany. It's a comparison I would entirely agree with, particularly on a hot sunny day, when it truly does feel like you're wandering through the grounds of a grand stately home in the Italian countryside.



The pergola's architecture is reminiscent of the Italian Renaissance gardens that inspired its construction, with ornate pillars, floor mosaics and grand archways all entwined with vines and exotic flowers. The main part of the pergola is a raised walkway that offers views out over the rest of the gardens, which are surrounded by wooded areas that block out the noise and chaos of the London streets beyond them. What they also seem to block out are visitors, with apparently very few people realising the gardens are there for them to peruse at their leisure.

On the several occasions I have visited the pergola , I have been one of only a handful of peopl.

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