Europe’s most beautiful botanic gardens have been revealed and one breathtaking attraction in the UK has beaten out rivals thanks to its incredible array of plants
Brits looking to get inspired for their next days out may want to consider a trip to London, which has been revealed as the home of ‘Europe’s most beautiful botanic garden’.
The Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew have topped a new list in a study looking at visitor reviews, boasting a perfect score from holidaymakers looking for staycation ideas.
Kew is already on most green thumbed Brits’ bucket lists. Its new ranking comes after one seaside walk was named the best wildflower trail in the UK.
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That Kew Gardens is so popular is no surprise. After all, the UNESCO World Heritage Site boasts over 50,000 living plants, not to mention its iconic Victorian glasshouse that’s home to 10 climate zones (keep an eye out for the carnivorous plants to be found in the tropical section!).
Kew Gardens is already a firm favourite with visitors and it often features on round-ups of ‘must-visit’ destinations in London. “Completely exceeded our expectations,” one happy holidaymaker wrote in a TripAdvisor review. “I can’t understand anyone giving this place a low score at all. I like plants, but would not consider myself a big enthusiast, yet found Kew really interesting – a fabulous day out.
“The lily building and the Prince of Wales buildings were particularly memorable. Parking was cheap and easy. We took a picnic so can’t give any insight regarding food/drink options I’m afraid. We had our two teenage sons with us, who you might not think would enjoy plants/gardens, but it was honestly one of the most enjoyable days out we have had!”
The attraction hosts a wide array of events throughout the year too whether that’s themed exhibitions, treasure trails for kids, Halloween themed nights or its annual Christmas lights trail. Meanwhile its newly-opened ‘Carbon Garden’ has been drawing in crowds, with the aim of showcasing the “critical role carbon plays in sustaining life on Earth, communicating the scale of the climate crisis, and sharing the extraordinary potential of the natural world to combat it”.
If you’re already tempted to have a look, then its new crown as Europe’s most beautiful botanic garden might help tip the scales in favour of a visit.
To determine the best botanic gardens, researchers at Saga Holidays looked at a variety of factors including how often these spots were described as ‘beautiful’ or ‘peaceful’, to analyse the ‘average sentiment of reviews’. Each garden was given a Weighted Rank by combining its average review sentiment and keyword score equally – and Kew Gardens came top with a perfect score of 100 out of 100.
The team behind the study explained: “Crowned Europe’s most gorgeous garden, Kew Gardens has almost 85,000 mentions of beauty in its reviews and a perfect weighted rank score of 100, reflecting its popularity and high sentiment among visitors. Home to the world’s largest and most diverse collections of plants and fungi, this UNESCO World Heritage Site has over 50,000 different living plants and more than 7 million preserved specimens.”
Want to see it for yourself? Adult tickets start from £22 online, child tickets from £6. Find out more and book at www.kew.org.
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