Real Jardín Botánico

The Real Jardín Botánico is the quiet corner of the Paseo del Prado, and a perfect antidote to museum fatigue. The garden was founded by Ferdinand VI in the mid-eighteenth century and moved to its present site beside the Prado in 1781 under Charles III, the king who planned the whole Paseo del Prado as a boulevard of science, with the natural history museum that became the Prado, an astronomical observatory and this garden. The architects Francesco Sabatini and Juan de Villanueva laid it out in a series of terraces stepping up the slope, which still give the garden its structure: the lower Terraza de los Cuadros, divided into small square beds of medicinal, aromatic and ornamental plants, fruit trees and roses; the Terraza de las Escuelas, organised botanically by plant families as a teaching garden; and the upper, more romantic Terraza del Plano de la Flor, with winding paths, a pond and large trees, including some of the oldest in Madrid. Around five and a half thousand live plant species are displayed, and the garden is also a major scientific institution, run by Spain's national research council, with a herbarium of more than a million specimens and an important library and archive. Highlights for visitors include the glasshouses, with tropical and desert plants, the Villanueva Pavilion, used for temporary exhibitions, and the bonsai collection, one of the best known in Europe, which began with a donation by former prime minister Felipe González. The garden changes throughout the year: tulips and blossoms in spring, roses in late spring, shade and green in summer, and fiery autumn colours in October and November, when the vines and trees turn. It is part of the area listed by UNESCO as the Landscape of Light.

Visiting: the main entrance is on the Plaza de Murillo, directly opposite the southern end of the Prado, with another gate on the Paseo del Prado. Entry costs a few euros, with a higher ticket that includes the exhibition in the Villanueva Pavilion, and reductions for students, seniors and large families. Under-18s enter free, and there are free entry times on some weekday afternoons; check the official information before going. The garden opens every day from morning until dusk, with longer hours in summer and shorter ones in winter. Guided visits of the garden and glasshouses are offered, and bike docking stations are close by.

Making the most of it: walk up through the terraces from the bottom, noting the formal beds and the botanical order, then take a slow loop of the upper terrace with its big old trees. Visit the glasshouses and the bonsai collection, then check what is showing in the Villanueva Pavilion. In summer, the garden is several degrees cooler than the streets outside, which makes it the best place to rest between museums on a hot afternoon. Benches are scattered everywhere; bring a book. Picnics are not the garden's style, so plan to eat elsewhere. Photographers should come in the softer light of late afternoon, when the low sun filters through the upper terrace's trees, and anyone interested in the science behind the garden can ask about the guided visits, which explain how the collection is used for research today.

Who it suits: couples looking for a calm, romantic hour; families with young children who need space and greenery in the middle of the museum district, especially as children enter free; art lovers seeking a break between the Prado and the Thyssen or CaixaForum; and keen gardeners, who could spend half a day here. Pair it with the Prado across the road, the Retiro just to the east, and CaixaForum's vertical garden a few minutes south on the Paseo del Prado.