Muszyna Sensory Gardens

Muszyna is a small spa in the Poprad valley near the Slovak border, and over the past two decades the town has built a set of gardens on the slopes above the river that have become its main attraction. The core is the sensory garden, planted and arranged so that the experience is not primarily visual: aromatic beds of herbs, textured surfaces to walk on barefoot, water features for sound, and plants chosen for scent through the season, with the layout usable by visitors with limited sight. Around it are further themed gardens - a magic garden, a biblical garden, a mineral water garden built around the local springs - linked by paths up the hillside, with a wooden viewing tower over the valley. The town has carbonated mineral waters drawn at pump points, castle ruins above, and a border crossing into Slovakia a few kilometres on.

What you actually see

• A sensory garden - herbs, textures and water arranged for smell, touch and sound.
• Themed gardens up the slope - magic, biblical and mineral water gardens.
• A wooden viewing tower - over the Poprad valley.
• Mineral water points - carbonated springs drawn in the town below.

When to go

May to September. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The gardens are young and still filling in. Paths up the slope are steep in places. Little is open in winter. Muszyna itself is small with limited food and accommodation.

Nearby

Krynica-Zdroj is twelve kilometres north-east; the Slovak border is close.