Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

The garden began in 1670 as a physic garden of medicinal plants near Holyrood and moved to Inverleith in the 1820s, which is why the collection is old enough to include specimens brought back by nineteenth-century plant hunters. It is a working research institution rather than a park, with a herbarium of around three million specimens and a specialism in conifers, rhododendrons and Chinese flora. The rock garden holds several thousand alpine species over a large sloped area, and the Chinese Hillside recreates a wooded Sino-Himalayan valley with a pavilion and pond. The glasshouses run through climate zones from tropical rainforest to arid, including a tall palm house. From the lawn at the top of the garden, the whole Edinburgh skyline lines up - castle, Old Town spires and Arthur's Seat behind.

What you actually see

• The rock garden - thousands of alpine species on a large slope.
• The Chinese Hillside - Sino-Himalayan planting around a pond.
• The glasshouses - climate zones from rainforest to desert.
• The skyline view - castle and Old Town seen from the top lawn.

When to go

April and May for rhododendrons and spring bulbs; October for the arboretum's colour. The garden opens daily and entry to the grounds is free, so early mornings make a good quiet walk before the city is awake. Glasshouses need a separate ticket and close earlier than the garden itself, so do those first.

Honest expectations

The glasshouse ticket is separate and parts of the complex have been closed for a long restoration programme, so check what is actually open before paying. Edinburgh weather limits the appeal for much of the year and there is little cover outdoors. Parking nearby is residents-only or metered and awkward.

Nearby

Stockbridge and the Water of Leith walkway are ten minutes away, the New Town twenty.