The world’s best urban gardens

By James Wong

February 9, 2023

Explore some of the best public parks and gardens in cities around the globe, from London to Bangkok, Miami to Marrakech.

From giant Victorian glasshouses to Thai courtyard jungles, these six urban oases will allow you to escape to nature, even in the heart of the city.

For urban biodiversity - Singapore Botanic Gardens

These days, Singapore might be more famous for its iconic Gardens by the Bay, where space-age glasshouses are set between towering ‘supertree’ structures clothed in living green. But, if you’re looking to escape the crowds, hop in a cab to the city’s old, colonial-era botanic gardens.

Just 15 minutes from Mandarin Oriental, Singapore, this Unesco World Heritage Site is home to a mind-boggling selection of tropical flora, with stunning canopy walks over forest-fringed lakes, and the most perfectly manicured orchid garden. Continually expanded as part of the country’s ‘City in a Garden’ development plan, which has made Singapore one of the most biodiverse cities in the world, it’s a masterclass in urban greening. Go in the morning to catch local seniors practising tai chi beneath centuries-old trees, grab breakfast from one of its many alfresco cafés, and maybe catch a glimpse of a wild otter or hornbill.

To tune into Japanese culture – Rikugien Gardens

Hidden behind high walls, Rikugien Gardens feels a world away from Tokyo’s urban buzz. Built around 1700, and little changed since, its transports visitors back in time to the Edo period, when Japan had sealed itself off from the outside world.

The garden consists of 88 zones, set around a sinuous central lake, each of which aims to bring to life scenes from traditional poems across woodlands and rolling hills. It was images of landscapes such as these on imported screens and ceramics that first caused Europeans to break from centuries of formal geometry and strict symmetry to embrace the naturalistic garden style we love today, marking an historic turning point in how the West viewed nature and our place in it. Take a trip as the garden flushes red and gold with autumn leaves, and you'll feel as if you’ve fallen into a fairy tale – and all just a 15-minute taxi ride away from Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo.

To marvel at Victorian ingenuity – Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Founded in an era when plants were appreciated not just for their aesthetics, but considered crucial assets that were key to the rise and fall of civilisations, the research and collections at Kew Gardens have literally shaped the world as we know it today.

Set within acres of woodland with vast lawns and lakes in the western outskirts of London, Kew’s Victorian glasshouses were engineering marvels, which stunned visitors with their first glimpses of tropical flora. Among the historic wonders, the magnificent palm house is home to the world’s oldest indoor plant: a cycad collected in the 1700s from South Africa. It’s all well worth the 45-minute Tube journey from Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London.

For a masterclass in indoor-outdoor living – the Jim Thompson House

Most of the world’s great gardens are sprawling, historical estates, which is what makes the tiny, canal-side garden of the Jim Thompson House Museum in Bangkok such a rare jewel.

Created by an American architect and entrepreneur to house his collection of Asian art, the museum is made up of six traditional open-sided, timber Thai houses that were collected from across the country, dismantled panel by panel and reassembled on site. In the shady courtyards and passageways between these historic buildings, the most spectacular gardens were planted, with densely-packed foliage softening the architecture’s lines, all reflected in tranquil lily ponds.

Perfectly blending the boundaries between inside and out, the verandas cleverly frame views of jungle leaves and exotic orchids as you walk barefoot, surrounded by exquisite art. It’s a fun-filled 15-minute tuk-tuk ride to and from Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok – so even if you only have an hour to spare, it’s close enough for you to lose yourself in a wonderous walk.

For tropical escapism – Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

It’s fascinating how gardens can be such a barometer for the cultures that created them, and this landscape is all about playfulness, fun and frivolity – a sort of botanical Disneyland for Florida.

Dominated by a canopy of enormous, swaying palms and a labyrinth of winding lakes, there’s a definite ‘Garden of Eden’ atmosphere at the Fairchild Garden. It also takes in tropical fruit trees, live butterfly houses and a swathe of rainforest, complete with artificially-generated mist. Its programme of activities, meanwhile, has something for everyone, from Sunday yin yoga sessions to early morning bird walks. The gardens are just a 40-minute drive from Mandarin Oriental Miami, so you can be back in the pool gazing out over the city skyline before lunch.

For a truly stunning natural setting – Anima André Heller Garden

Marrakech is famous for its stunning historic gardens but, if you want to see the embodiment of traditional Arabic design principles brought to life in the modern age, head for the Anima André Heller Garden, just a 40-minute drive from Mandarin Oriental, Marrakech.

With dramatic snow-capped mountains as a backdrop, it feels surreal to be standing amid verdant palms and exotic cacti, in a colour scheme of dazzling kaleidoscopic hues, designed to amplify the already bewildering Alice in Wonderland vibe. It’s no surprise that this garden is the brainchild of an avant-garde artist, with rooms full of mad, colourful sculptures dotted through the space, as if they have fallen from the sky. If you want to feel as if you have left this planet – with your feet still firmly on the ground – this is the place.

All offers and experiences available at time of publication. Please contact the relevant hotel team for more information.

About the Author

James Wong

James is a botanist and broadcaster, who explores the natural world for the BBC, The Observer and on Instagram @botanygeek.