REAL JARDIN BOTANICO MADRID

On a hot summer day there is nowhere better to stroll or snooze on a bench than these royal botanic gardens. In celebration of its bicentenary (1981), the geometric gardens were renovated and remodeled; today there are three terraced areas to explore. Closest to the Paseo del Prado are 14 plots devoted to plants and herbs used for cooking, medicines and decoration. Some are indigenous to Spain and Portugal. In the late afternoon, enjoy the heady scent of the aromatics in plot 11. Dotted with fountains, the middle terrace is a living encyclopedia of plants from the oldest known to man to the most highly developed species all arranged in the correct scientific order.

Appropriately, a bust of Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist who invented this classification system for plants, overlooks the gardens. Like Kew Gardens in England, the Jardin Botanico is also a scientific institution, with a seed bank of plants from around the world as well as the Iberian Peninsula.