Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques

What makes it special

More than 11,000 plant species grow here on 28 hectares of organic cultivation, from alpine plants in the rock gardens to tropical trees under glass. The terraces hold more than 500 officinal plants, the kind with everyday uses in the kitchen and the medicine cabinet.

The Winter Garden is a glass and iron greenhouse built in 1910 and 1911, one of the oldest buildings on the site.

Next to it, the temperate house sits under a large glass dome, with plants from dry-summer climates: the Mediterranean, Australia and South Africa. A pond in the greenhouses holds Victoria cruziana, a South American plant and one of the largest water lilies on earth.

Behind the scenes, the herbarium keeps more than six million preserved specimens, among the largest in the world. It is not open to the public, but group visits run several times a year by registration.

Visiting

Each of the greenhouses closes at 5pm whatever the season, so go to them first and leave the open grounds for later. Pick up a garden map at the Villa Le Chêne reception on weekdays, or at the library or the visitor education room (espace médiation), open Wednesday, Friday and weekend afternoons.

In the temperate house, take the stairs to the walkway that runs round the top, level with the treetops. Outside, the grounds hold the rock gardens of alpine plants, the terraces and the Japanese garden.

The eastern end has an enclosure of deer, goats, sheep, hens and ducks, plus a play area, the Carrousel des Fables merry-go-round and picnic lawns.

Guided or on your own

You can see the garden perfectly well on your own with the map. For a theme, free visits of about an hour run from March to December with a researcher, horticulturist, curator or librarian.

Book at least three days ahead, and check the garden's own visits page for the current programme. The Association des Amis du Jardin botanique de Genève also runs private themed visits for groups and individuals.

Tips

Check the map before you leave the glasshouses, because the eastern part of the garden, with its picnic area, is easy to miss on a first loop. Picnic only on the lawns and marked spots, where barbecues and furniture are not allowed, and do not feed the animals. For lunch, the Amarante restaurant cooks vegetarian food from local, seasonal produce, served indoors, on the terrace or at a self-service counter.

With a double pushchair the Winter Garden is a squeeze, and the tropical house has stairs and a narrow path. Wheelchair users can reach the Winter Garden, the volcanic, Gesneriad and bromeliad houses, the temperate house's ground floor and the tropical house, though steps link its two levels. The rock gardens, the Japanese garden, the ethnobotanical gardens and the temperate walkway are out of reach.