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Hortus Botanicus (Botanical Garden) Amsterdam

Enjoy Hortus Botanicus, the Botanical Garden in Amsterdam. This small garden is one of the oldest in the world.

Greenhouse Amsterdam Botanical Gardens

On a springtime trip to the Netherlands, we visited Hortus Botanicus in Amsterdam. This 1.2-hectare (about 3 acres) garden is home to over 4000 plant species.

Daily 1000-1700. Closes at 2100 on Thu & Sun between 21 Jun – 21 Sep.

Amsterdam’s Hortus Botanicus

De Hortus Botanicus is a unique little garden just east of the city center of Amsterdam. The garden opened in 1638 as a medicinal herb garden. Now it serves to educate and preserve rare plants.

Many of the garden’s plants were brought in by Dutch East India Company traders. Key plant collections include:

  • Medicinal plants
  • South African plants
  • Carnivorous plants
  • Cycads
  • Palms
  • Container plants
  • Trees

De Hortus is known for its 300-year-old Eastern Cape Giant Cycad and 2000-year-old Agave Cactus.

Garden Layout

De Hortus Botanicus consists of the following sections:

  • Butterfly house
  • 17th-century physic garden
  • Semicircle garden
  • Arboretum
  • Palm house
  • Three climate greenhouse

We started in the butterfly house. This small humid building is home to several different butterflies.

Butterfly garden Amsterdam

Next was the Snippendaal Garden, which has several 17th-century medicinal herbs.

The Systematic Garden is a big semicircle with plants arranged to show their systematic relationship to each other.

semicircle garden amsterdam

The trees in the Arboretum make you feel as if you are away from the city.

The Palm greenhouse and the 3-climate greenhouse have a canopy walk, a fantastic way to see the plants from above. 

The Palm house is home to the cycads and palms. 

Our last stop was three climate greenhouse, divided into three distinct climates: desert, sub-tropical and tropical. It is impressive how this one building has such distinctive zones separated by doors.

We enjoyed our visit to the gardens. We stopped and enjoyed the surroundings on several benches spread throughout the property.

A visit to the botanical garden in Amsterdam is highly recommended!

Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam Plantage Middenlaan 2A, 1018 DD Amsterdam 

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