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Holidays offer relaxation and an escape from the mundane. Fewer places instil serenity to a greater extent than a manicured garden, which is why we’ve compiled a shortlist of the world’s best gardens. Your personal travel manager can provide all the travel arrangements to get you one step closer to these celestial creations.
Gardens of Versaille
The Gardens of Versaille are arguably the world’s most famous gardens, designed by Andre Le Notre for Louis XIV in the 17th century. The palace and adjoining garden, which stretch for nearly 2000 acres, were added to the UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites in 1979.
The gardens adhere to the traditional French garden style, using symmetry and geometric planting beds to create works of art. The palace and gardens are open all year round, with peak season running between April and October. The majestic fountains are the focal points of the garden with the most famous being the iconic Bassin de Latone. The Bassin de Latone dates back to the garden’s creation in the 17th century and was named after Apollo’s mother in greek mythology. The fountains operate every weekend during the summer months despite ongoing water shortages.
Garden of Cosmic Speculation, Scotland
The British are known for taking a great deal of pride in their gardens and without prejudice, the Garden of Cosmic Speculation is up there with the best. This 30-acre garden is near Dumfries in Scotland, and is open to the public for one day each year to raise money for Maggie’s Centres, a cancer care charity named after the co-creator.
The garden was created in 1989 by husband and wife duo Charles Jencks and Maggie Keswick Jencks. The result is a stunning and unique garden that while lacking in flora is filled with thought provoking ideas and mesmerising individual displays.
Suan Nong Nooch, Thailand
Suan Nong Nooch is a tropical garden covering 600 acres in Pattaya, Southern Thailand. Created in 1954 by Mrs. Nongnooch as a wildlife conservation project, the garden encompasses traditional Thai architecture.
The garden was opened to the public in 1980 and thanks to Pattaya’s consistent climate is open all year round. The garden attracts 2,000 visitors a day with stunning surroundings, martial art demonstrations and even a small zoo.
Keukenhof Castle, The Netherlands
In stark contrast to the Garden of Cosmic Speculation’s lack of flora, seven million bulbs are planted each year at Keukenhof Castle in the Netherlands. Keukenhof translates to ‘kitchen garden’ in English and is the largest flower garden in the world, spanning 80 acres.
The gardens are located at Keukenhof Castle in Lisse on 15th century hunting grounds and have become a major tourist attraction, showcasing the world’s largest collection of tulips and hybrids for which Holland is famous. New strains of tulips are constantly being developed and stabilised which means the collection is ever growing. Pride of place is Baba Yaga, the incredibly rare black Russian tulip first unveiled in 2010.
The gardens are open to the public from 20th March until 21st May, attracting roughly 80,000 horticulture enthusiasts each year.
Gardens at Ryoan-ji temple, Kyoto
The Zen gardens at the Ryoan-ji temple are the perfect example of the Japanese art form. Built in the late 15th century by Hosokawa Katsumoto, the Temple of the Dragon at Peace and Rock Garden became UNESCO protected heritage sites in 1994.
The rock garden at Ryoan-ji has been carefully composed so that only fourteen of the stones can be seen at any one time from the veranda of the hojo. The beauty of the Zen garden, is that it’s open to debate regarding what the stones have been set to represent, if anything at all. Scientific analysis of the garden points towards the garden being aligned with the temple’s architecture with an axis of symmetry passing close to the traditional vantage point.
Start creating your itinerary with your local, personal travel manager. Visit http://www.travelmanagers.com.au/ptm-search/
TravelManagers respects and honours the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands where we work and gather, and those we visit.
