Inside the gorge

Botanical garden, თბილისი

The botanical garden of თბილისი is vast in size but unlike typical botanical gardens in western Europe packed with flowers and trees. It is more like a large park with different smaller sections of flowers, a Japanese garden, a waterfall and endless rows of cypress trees. What makes it so special is the location: it can be found within a gorge behind the mountain on which Kartlis deda monument and the Nariqala fortress are standing.

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Flower power

Botanical garden, Akureyri

There is nothing better than a botanical garden if you want to rest a little bit. And the botanical garden of Akureyri is a very good example for that: it has wonderful flowers, can be entered free of charge and there is even a coffee bar (the Laut) in the center of the garden. You can discover 400 local plants and 6,000 plants from all over the world (from polar regions and high mountains) in the garden.

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Palmengarten

Palmengarten, Frankfurt

Close to the city center of Frankfurt am Main you’ll find a pleasure rather unexpected in this central location: the Palmengarten, a botanical garden between high modern houses and ancient homes. It is 22 hectares large and was opened in 1871. The garden expert Heinrich Siesmayer received the order to buy the trees and plants of the orangery of Adolphe, the Duke of Nassau. The garden was created following the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont and the buildings of the World Exhibition of 1867 in Paris. Some elements of that can be seen still today.

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Botanique

Botanique, Bruxelles

If you want to enjoy a full-scale botanical garden close to the Belgian capital you must go to the Plantentuin in Meise, just three kilometers north of the Atomium. If you can live with a smaller one, the old Jardin Botanique (Kruidtuin) north of the city center is waiting for your visit. It was opened in 1829 and consisted of an orangery, three terraces (in French, Italian and English styles) and was decorated with fifty-two statues.

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Secret pond

Baths of Aphrodite, Νέο Χωριό

The Akámas peninsula is the northwestern end of Cyprus is covered by beautiful nature and protected as a national park. You can best discover it by hiking. In the last years, many people switched to renting quads and disturb the peace and quietness of this are. An alternative is to discover the northern shore by car and a lot of visitors decide to visit the Baths of Aphrodite there.

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Victorian greenhouses

National botanic garden, Dublin

It was a really rainy day when I went to the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland at Glasnevin, Dublin. In Ireland you need to always plan around the weather and if you don’t have enough time to do so you need to live with what you get. When I exited the bus near the botanic garden I recognized that I made a big mistake – I left my umbrella on the bus. It wasn’t very good at this windy time of the year but at least it gave some protection.

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Real Jardín Botánico

Real Jardín Botánico, Madrid

The botanical garden of Madrid, Spain is a special one. It consists of three terraces with flower beds that form exact geometrical shapes. The Real Jardín Botánico is rather a landscape garden with numerous flowers and trees inside. It was founded in 1755 outside of the city and then moved in 1781 to its current location next to the Museo del Prado. The garden contains 5000 trees and plants from all over the world.

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Botāniskais dārzs

Botanical garden, Rīga

I like visiting botanical gardens while travelling around the world. It’s about relaxation, having a nice walk through a park, seeing wonderful plants and often the chance to have a look at exotic plants in greenhouses. The botanical garden (botāniskais dārzs) of Rīga, Latvia offers all of these, but has another nice feature: a house full of butterflies. There you can walk around in tropical atmosphere and watch those beautiful animals.

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