The gate of the garden is the threshold between the world and the other world – the garden that is the designed, the planted, and the imagined, the nature that is the controlled and the beautiful. European garden is the most beautiful in the world: the formal (the Versailles, the Vaux-le-Vicomte, the Le Nôtre – the geometry, the parterre, the water, and the sense of the man imposing the order on the nature), the English landscape (the Stourhead, the Kew, the Capability Brown – the “natural” that is the entirely artificial, the lake that was the dug, the hill that was the raised, and the most beautiful landscape in the England), and the botanical (the Kirstenbosch, the Sissinghurst, the Giardino dei Semplici – the plants, the beauty, and the science). Here are five can’t-miss gardens in Europe.

1. Keukenhof, Netherlands – The Tulips

The Keukenhof in the Lisse – the 32 hectares, the 7 million flower bulbs, the tulips (the most famous – the 800 varieties, the 4.5 million tulips), the daffodils, the hyacinths, the crocuses – is the most beautiful flower garden in the world. The Keukenhof is the open for the 8 weeks each spring (the late March to the mid-May), and the essential strategy: the weekday, the early morning (the 8am opening, the first 2 hours are the quietest), and the advance ticket (~€20). The essential photograph: the “rivers” of the blue muscari flowing between the tulips. Allow the 3–4 hours. More Europe →

2. Alhambra – the Generalife, Spain

The Generalife is the gardens of the summer palace of the Nasrid emirs of the Granada, the 13th century, and the most beautiful Islamic gardens in Europe: the Patio de la Acequia (the long pool, the fountains, the flowers, and the view of the Alhambra), the water (the essential element of the Islamic garden – the sound, the cooling, the reflection – and the sense of the oasis in the desert), and the view (the Sierra Nevada, the snow on the peaks in the spring, and the most beautiful garden view in the Spain). The Alhambra ticket (~€19) includes the Generalife, and the essential strategy: book online the 3–6 months in advance – the tickets sell out the fastest of any attraction in the Spain.

3. Versailles, France – the grandest

See the Beyond Paris guide (post #1447). The essential Versailles gardens experience: the Grandes Eaux Musicales (the musical fountain shows – the Saturday and the Sunday, the summer, the fountains, the music, and the most beautiful day in the Versailles. ~€10 extra).

4. Sissinghurst Castle Garden, England – the most beautiful English garden

The Sissinghurst in the Kent – the Vita Sackville-West and the Harold Nicolson, the 1930, the most famous and the most beautiful garden in the England: the White Garden (the most famous room of the Sissinghurst – the white flowers, the silver foliage, the green, and the most beautiful garden room in the world), the Rose Garden (the old roses, the scent, the June – the best time for the English roses), and the Tower (the study of the Vita, the view of the Weald of the Kent, and the best garden view in the England). ~£16, and the essential strategy: the weekday, the shoulder season, and the garden before the crowds of the Saturday (the Sissinghurst is the National Trust, and the weekends are the busiest).

5. Giardino di Ninfa, Italy – the most romantic garden in Europe

The garden at the Ninfa (the Lazio, the 1 hour south of the Rome), the medieval ruined town, the river, the roses, the wisteria, the irises, and the most beautiful and the most fleeting garden in Europe (the open only on the selected days from the March to the November – the essential check of the website before the visit. ~€15, and the essential booking: the tickets are the released on the website at the start of the month, and the summer Saturdays sell out in the hours)