El Jardín Botánico de Madrid
One of the first places I seek out in a new city, is the botanic garden. What I have found over the years, is that not only to these gardens provide an escape from the busy cities that surround them, but that they often times have rich and fascinating histories, stories usually, of one person so fascinated with the natural world that they had dedicated their lives to the planting, the growing and the caring for the wonderful sights they have created. Such is true of the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid, El Jardín Botánico.
This garden, is located just aside one of the other locations I seek in a new city, the art museum. What can be more perfect that having two of my favorite places located just next door to each other? The famous Prado Museum is the museum on topic, filled with some of the most incredible and inspirational pieces of works from the masters of the art world. So of course, when I was booking my hotel, I wanted to be set up close enough to walk by these spots every day during my trip. The Botanical Garden was founded by King Ferdinand the VI, in 1755. Not only is the garden filled with mature and beautiful growth and visual delights, it serves as an educational institute for the study of botany.
The garden has 2 greenhouses, and 3 sections outside, filled with more than thirty thousand flowers and plants, and fifteen hundred trees. It is an oasis in a busy city. The newest of the greenhouses contains plants from three different climate regions, the desert, the temperate and the tropical. The garden is open every day, from ten in the morning until eight in the evening. I found myself bouncing back and forth between the garden and the museum, infusing my love for the beauty of the natural world, with my love for the beauty of the artistic mind. Each time I return to Madrid, this will be my home base, no matter where I choose to roam through the city.
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