The Most Beautiful Botanical Gardens in the World

The tightly packed streets of old Marrakech are hardly synonymous with greenery, but tucked away a little outside the old medina is this striking botanical landscape garden. The site was created by noted French Orientalist artist Jacques Majorelle over a 40-year period starting in 1923. It’s a pretty small space, about one hectare (or two acres), centred around a charming bright blue cubist villa designed by Fresh architect Paul Sinoir. The gardens are embellished with cacti, sculptures and fountains, as well as around 15 endemic North African bird species. Indoors, meanwhile, is the Berber Museum and a selection of Majorelle’s own paintings. You’ll have a free afternoon in the city on the last full day of our 11-day Morocco tour, and we can’t think of a better place to reflect on the adventure of a lifetime.

Japanese Gardens are like a sub-section of the botanical garden, with an unmistakable look representative of classical Japanese design, usually featuring a range of ponds, rocks, cute little bridges and ornamental structures, as well as a diverse range of shrubbery. The gardens are imbued with philosophical and artistic inspirations, elevating the feeling of serenity to a whole new level. You can discover majestic gardens all over Japan, which means you’ll have plenty of chances to discover some on our 12-day Rail Trip. We recommend visiting Shukkei-en garden while we’re in Hiroshima, Ryoan-ji Temple in Kyoto and Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in Tokyo.