Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is one of the great botanic gardens of the world and, apart from the glasshouses, it is free. Known locally as the Botanics, it began in 1670 as a small physic garden for growing medicinal plants near Holyrood, moved several times and settled at Inverleith, just north of the New Town, in the early nineteenth century. Today it covers around seventy acres of lawns, woodland and specialist gardens, and it is also a major scientific institution whose plant collecting has shaped what grows in British gardens. For visitors it is simply a beautiful place to walk. The Rock Garden, built into a slope with a stream and waterfalls, is spectacular in late spring. The Chinese Hillside recreates the mountain flora of south-west China, the source of many of the garden's famous rhododendrons. There is a Scottish Heath Garden, a Woodland Garden of tall conifers including giant redwoods, the Queen Mother's Memorial Garden, a long herbaceous border backed by a great beech hedge, and lawns ideal for a picnic. From the high ground near Inverleith House there is one of the best skyline views in Edinburgh, with the castle, the Old Town spires and Arthur's Seat lined up to the south. The big news is the glasshouses: the restored Victorian Palm Houses, the taller of which dates from the 1850s, have reopened after years of work and are ticketed. The rest of the glasshouse range is still part of the Edinburgh Biomes restoration project, so access arrangements apply around that area. Opening hours vary through the year, closing earlier in winter.

Getting in: there are two gates. The West Gate on Arboretum Place has the John Hope Gateway visitor centre, with information, a shop and a cafe; the East Gate is on Inverleith Row, convenient for buses from the city centre. From Princes Street it is a pleasant downhill walk of twenty to thirty minutes through the New Town and Stockbridge, or a short bus ride. Paths are well surfaced, so pushchairs and wheelchairs manage most of the garden, though some areas are sloped. Dogs are generally not permitted apart from assistance dogs. Check the garden's access updates before you go, since some areas, including parts around the glasshouses, the Queen Mother's Memorial Garden and the alpine courtyard, can have restricted access during the restoration works.

When to go: every season has something. Late April to early June is the peak for rhododendrons and the Rock Garden; summer brings the herbaceous border into flower; autumn turns the woodland copper and gold; and in winter the Palm Houses become a warm refuge from the wind. Early mornings are calm and full of birdsong, and the skyline view is at its best on clear evenings. In the run-up to Christmas the garden has in recent years hosted a ticketed after-dark light trail, which is very popular and sells out, so check the programme if you are visiting in December.

Make it a half-day: combine the Botanics with Stockbridge, the village-like neighbourhood just to the south, for brunch or lunch, the Sunday market and a browse along St Stephen Street. Inverleith Park next door has one of the best long views of the castle from its pond. Walkers can continue along the Water of Leith towards Dean Village and the modern art galleries. For a calm green break from the crowds of the Old Town, nothing in Edinburgh beats it, and it costs nothing unless you choose the Palm Houses. Bring a layer even in summer, since the garden is open to the wind off the Forth.