Galle Face

Galle Face is a 12-acre ocean-side urban park in the heart of Colombo, whose promenade was originally laid out in 1859 by the Governor, Sir Henry George Ward (1797-1860).  It was used for horse racing, then called Colpetty Race Course, until 1893, and from 1897 as a golf course, a rugby pitch and a cricket pitch, but also for polo, football and tennis.   The park itself was first created by the Dutch to give their cannons a strategic line of fire against the Portuguese.  It is now used as a park for recreational activities.  In 2016 it sported the world’s largest artificial Christmas tree.