{"id":3453,"date":"2016-07-20T16:07:46","date_gmt":"2016-07-20T15:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=3453"},"modified":"2025-05-27T11:19:42","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T10:19:42","slug":"botanical-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/botanical-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"The Botanical Garden"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/gardensmall.jpg\" alt=\"Botanical gardens sign\" class=\"wp-image-13774\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/gardensmall.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/gardensmall-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>As tourists marvel at the Belvedere Gardens in all their baroque splendour, few know how close they are to another landscaped garden open to the public: the Botanical Garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>University-run public gardens with free entry<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Includes themed zones and unusual displays<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book a two-hour <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/vienna-walking-tours-l205287\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_WalkingTours\" rel=\"sponsored\">walking tour<\/a>* of Vienna<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/baroque-gardens\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"3395\">Belvedere Gardens<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Belvedere&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/kammergarten-privy-garden\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"3333\">Kammergarten<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/alpine-gardens\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"3421\">Alpine Gardens<\/a> (another neighbour)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/hirschstetten\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"34465\">Hirschstetten Botanical Gardens<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Inside the botanical garden<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/botanicalgardens.jpg\" alt=\"Entrance to the botanical gardens\" class=\"wp-image-13773\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/botanicalgardens.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/botanicalgardens-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(An entrance to the not-so-secret garden)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The park runs along to the east of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/vienna-museums\/belvedere\/\">Belvedere complex<\/a> and can trace its roots (<em>ba dum tish!<\/em>) back to 1754 and a pharmaceutical garden established by Empress Maria Theresa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A couple of trees still remain from the early days. For example, the giant 18th-century plane tree that sticks out into Renngasse at the southernmost edge of the complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Botanical Garden is actually a research, teaching and public education facility belonging to the University of Vienna, which has adjacent premises housing related departments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So where Belvedere&#8217;s gardens end in ornate palaces, these gardens end in ordinary greenhouses (which means more glass, less marble, and fewer statues of 18th-century military heroes).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The big advantage of the university gardens is they offer a little more breathing space than their imperial rivals, given that far fewer tourists find their way inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The highlights<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/botanicgardens1905.jpg\" alt=\"The botanic gardens near Belvedere sometime before 1905\" class=\"wp-image-68492\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/botanicgardens1905.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/botanicgardens1905-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The botanic gardens in a photograph from before 1905 produced by the Deutsch&#8217;s Postkartenverlag; Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 183388; excerpt reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The gardens pack a lot of variety into the area. Including numerous giant trees with the promise of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/weather\/how-to-keep-cool\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"74122\">cooling shade<\/a> in the summer months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One part is full of biodiversity and conservation sections, where our May meander around revealed meadows and shrubs teeming with bees, beetles, and butterflies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other parts have themed zones, such as &#8220;Flora of Austria&#8221;, &#8220;Medicinal, domestic and poisonous plants&#8221; or &#8220;Cacti and succulents&#8221;. And the entire middle section covers displays of plants based on systematic principles, i.e. grouped according to their genetic relationship with each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To put it concisely: it&#8217;s a lovely and tranquil walk around a park with far more to offer than your average municipal facility and full of unexpected surprises. Here a pond of newts, there a swamp cypress. And everything labelled so you can look up the plants on your phone or at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Particular highlights for me on our visit were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A thick copse of green-glaucous bamboo (<em>Phyllostachys viridiglaucescens<\/em>), with stems several metres high. If the boardwalk through the copse is open, you can wander through and listen to the knocking of the stems in the wind<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Chilean rhubarb (<em>Gunnera tinctoria<\/em>) with its giant leaves<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A pond full of sacred lotus (<em>Nelumbo nucifera<\/em>), whose leaves are incredibly water resistent so drops retain their form on them<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A mini showcase full of carnivorous plants (and one unfortunate fly, who was in considerably more danger than it could ever imagine). Several other showcases dot the facility &#8211; one, for example, featured &#8220;living stones&#8221; &#8211; and the gardens include a small tropical plant house<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The cactus and succulent group: some quite impressive specimens in there<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>(A plant labelled &#8220;Naked ladies&#8221; turned out to be less exciting than you might imagine.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tickets &amp; visitor tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Entry to the Botanical Garden is free and it&#8217;s open more or less every day (closing from late December to early January and if weather conditions are unsuitable). Check the <a href=\"https:\/\/botanischergarten.univie.ac.at\/\">university website<\/a> for full details on opening hours, as well as background information on the history and contents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more botanical garden fun, try:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/hirschstetten\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"34465\">Hirschstetten<\/a> botanical gardens: also free and also full of themed areas (most outdoor areas take a break in the colder parts of the year, though)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/alpine-gardens\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"3421\">Alpine Gardens<\/a>: a small and separate facility at the top of the university gardens. Remarkably, it houses an excellent bonsai collection<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get to the Botanical Garden<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Follow the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/gettingthere3\/\">directions for Upper Belvedere<\/a>, then:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go to the south gates and walk east a few metres to reach a double entrance. Right is the Alpine Gardens, left gives you access to the top of the Botanical Garden<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If you&#8217;re at the Upper Belvedere palace itself, go to the east end of the building and continue further east. Look for a raised building: just to its north behind a hedge is another entrance (the Reitertor) leading from the Belvedere grounds into the middle section of the gardens<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Follow the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/gettingthere3\/\">directions for Lower Belvedere<\/a>, then:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>On reaching the palace entrance, don&#8217;t go in but walk southeast along Rennweg road for another 400 metres or so and you&#8217;ll see Praetoriusgasse on your right. Go down that street and it takes you to the main entrance to the gardens<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Mechelgasse\/Praetoriusgasse, 1030 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1ksawXWFMVD9bljA48Gi7_VvWSfI\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As tourists marvel at the Belvedere Gardens in all their baroque splendour, few know how close they are to another landscaped garden open to the public: the Botanical Garden. Inside the botanical garden (An entrance to the not-so-secret garden) The park runs along to the east of the Belvedere complex and can trace its roots [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13774,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3453","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-belvedere-sites","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3453"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83751,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3453\/revisions\/83751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}