The Â£1.8m scheme would restore the link between the Arch of Remembrance and the park's historic gates, both designed by British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens.
Sir Peter Soulsby, the city's mayor, said the Grade I-listed arch and gates are of "national significance".
The revamp should be ready to mark the centenary of the end of World War One.
Sir Peter said: "Over the 100 years [the arch] has rather lost its connection with the magnificent park and gates... I want to restore that connection.
"The Lutyens memorial arch is a monument of great local, and indeed national, significance.
"Along with the park's wonderful gates, the memorial is among the architectural highlights of the city."
Sir Edwin, who died in 1944, also designed the Cenotaph in Whitehall, the Midland Bank building in Manchester and a number of monuments in New Delhi, India.
Historic England said the arch was an "eloquent witness to the tragic impacts of world events" on the Leicester community.
During the work, the park's existing sport courts and skate park will be overhauled, and the parking area improved.
The city council will receive Â£502,300 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to repair and refurbish the ornate gates.
Work to create a new tree-lined processional route to a war memorial in Victoria Park could begin in 2016, Leicester City Council has said.