Royal Botanic Garden (Real Jardín Botánico)

A good place to have a walk surrounded by vegetation from so many different places in the world like the United States or the Canary Islands. What strikes one most is, without a doubt, the green house, for the great variety of cactus and tropical plants: some of them are very tiny others reach the roof, including some very lovely blue ones standing out from the uniform green color of the rest.

Once outside you go on on the paths surrounded by centuries old trees, until you bump into the oldest cypress in the garden, almost 250 years old.

On Saturday and Sunday there is a guided visit at 12 pm, in order to find out about all the secrets of the garden. The entrance fee is 2€ and 1€ with discount. You do not have to pay extra for the guided visit.

The Botanical Garden of Madrid is located on Murillo square, very close to Atocha station, the Paseo del Prado and the most important museums in Madrid, Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen and the new CaixaForum. If you just finished to visit one of these and if you have time, I recommend going to the Botanical Garden, since it is a very relaxing and less saturated with people.

The Botanical is divided into three parts: the Cuadros terrace, where there are aromatic and medicinal plants; the escuelas botánicas terrace, where there is a very interesting collection of plants, some of them very old; the Plano de la flor terrace with bushes and trees.

The Royal Botanic Garden in Madrid is the ideal place to spend a few hours on a sunny spring morning. The gardens are massive (they run all the way from the Atocha train station to the Prado Museum) and you'll find plenty of beautiful little corners to relax, chat, or just enjoy a few moments of peace and quiet away from the usual Madrid chaos.

The garden is divided into themed sections covering things like tulips, roses, medicinal plants, edible plants, and then you have several greenhouses which house cacti and topical plants. Each little section is centered around a peaceful bubbling fountain, a distinctly-Spanish touch which really adds to the gardens' idyllic ambiance.

It is a place made to get lost and spend the afternoon, forgetting that you are in a big city. It has various differentiated parts: medicinal plants, robust bushes, plant of human consumption, flowers...

Each specie is well identified, apart from counting on didactic guides and track games for children. Even if you don't really like the vegetation, I recommend this great garden to walk, sit down to read on one of the benches or enjoy the sound of the water of the fountains.

A lovely and magical place close to Atocha.

In Madrid there are many special corners, but one of my favorite is the Royal Botanical Garden, a space right in the center of the capital offering the visitors something the Retiro, even though it is huge, cannot offer: absolute tranquility.

It is a rather big garden, full of plants and flowers of all types changing according to seasons, perfectly cared, full of shadows and benches to sit down to rest your legs if you get tired of walking.

Apart from getting to know the flora, you can find many animals. The cats live there at ease, the ducks and the cats enjoy the small "lake" and the various fountains and during the spring the butterflies color all corners.