It’s Spring Day here in the Southern Hemisphere, and what better way to celebrate than by visiting a botanical garden, where spring is usually the main event?

Some of our favourite family holiday memories come from visiting botanical gardens. At the one in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, each area transports you to a completely different environment, from desert landscapes to lush forests and everything in between.

Botanical gardens can be much more than places to visit. They can become a lens for travel and adventure, helping us discover new places, experience unfamiliar environments and see a city from a fresh perspective.

Use this free global directory to find botanical gardens near home or explore gardens worth adding to a future travel list.

Alternatively, you can start with Gardenlust by Christopher Woods, a richly illustrated tour of striking botanical gardens around the world. It brings the feeling of garden travel home, and may help you find a place to daydream about next.

Think of a city you’ve always wanted to visit and search for its botanical garden. With Google Maps, you can explore many of these gardens in remarkable detail from home.

See where your curiosity takes you, and whether it inspires you to start planning your next trip, big or small.

Kew Gardens, in London, is a beautiful reminder that botanical gardens are living worlds you can explore.

Travel in later life does not have to mean a long journey or a packed itinerary. Sometimes it is enough to step into a garden, follow a path you have not walked before and let the season show you something new.

Warm regards,
Johann