Since the establishment of the idea of public parks by Frederick Law Olmsted over 100 years ago, the role of parks in modern cities becomes more and more significant. Planned by Olmsted as common green spaces accessible to all citizens, parks are now regarded as the reflection of the modernization that great and smaller cities undergo. The ever-increasing mobility of people sets the highest demands to the outside world. Therefore, nowadays, the role of parks does not restrict to recreation only, but to the factor of the city’s livability as a whole. The complex of reasons that justifies the importance of parks in the modern cities may be presented in the following way:   * Parks provide environmental and ecological services;   * Parks are beneficial for human moral condition, enriching human life with meanings and emotions;   * Parks provide people with places for physical, cultural and social activities;   * Parks introduce some elements of the country into rapidly developing life of large cities, thus, the link between small towns and large cities is never lost;   * Parks make modern cities more lively and relaxing;   * Parks preserve the natural beauty in the large cities. Increasing empirical evidence enables us to join the above-mentioned advantages of parks in modern cities with one statement. Parks contribute significantly to the quality of life being at the same time the indicator of this quality. Realizing the importance of parks for modern cities and enjoying their beauty one should be aware of the basis for park culture that was founded by the godfather of American parks, namely, F. L. Olmstead. New York City’s Central Park serves as an example of landscape architecture for many countries. Not only were numerous parks created across the country by this American landscape architect, but entire systems of parks which up to the modern days impress their visitors. The park systems designed for Buffalo, New York, and for Milwaukee, Wisconsin are ones among dozens of others. The most important feature of these parks is a wide range of active recreation opportunities that they provide: passive greenspace, playgrounds, immediate environment, sitting areas, playgrounds, bathrooms, drinking fountains, pathways, and sidewalks. They are common for most New York’s parks. Figure 1. New York City’s Central Park Figure 2. New York City’s Central Park France is also rich with parks which play an important role in the life of the country. Especially it is true with the capital of France. It so happened that the central sections of Paris were not built for recreational purposes. At the early stage of its development Paris had a low ratio of green space per inhabitant. Nowadays the city is proud of its recreation places. The Bois de Boulogne, the Luxembourg Gardens, the Buttes Chaumont and Montsouris, the Toiletries are outstanding examples of French landscape architecture. Starting from 1852 Paris was radically transformed by Emperor Napoleon III which also resulted in the appearance of new parks at Boulogne and Vincennes. Figure 3. The Bois de Boulogne Figure 4. The Bois de Boulogne Cardiff, one of the greenest cities in the UK, also serves as an example of the city where parks are significa