Few things in the world are as archetypically beautiful as gardens, places designed specifically to foster peace, tranquility, and quiet contemplation.
However, some gardens are better at achieving their goals than others. Whether it's through massive exhibitions, a huge variety of plants and flowers, or miles and miles of walking paths, a certain selection of gardens go above and beyond their expectations, offering the visitor a truly transcendental experience. It is in honor of that special distinction that we have listed below, the five most beautiful gardens in the world. Places whose grandeur and aesthetic quality is truly and undeniably, out of this world.
5. Claude Monet's Garden, Giverny, France
The first item on the list is also one of the most historically interesting. As the title would indicate, this garden was home to the chief of High Impressionism Claude Monet, an artist particularly consumed with issues like light, line, and color. Consequently, his garden is just as beautiful and interesting as you could ever imagine: full of the flowers, ponds, and pathways that the artist's paintings have made iconic.
Also make sure to check out the garden's famous lily-pond - this artificial lagoon is home to the water lilies Monet obsessed over in the series of his later life.
4. Kenroku-en Garden, Ishikawa, Japan
While the Kenroku-en Garden may not be memorialized in art quite the way the gardens at Giverney are, one trip to Ishikawa will have you wondering why. Indeed, as one of Japan's three "Great" gardens, this Zen oasis will bowl even the most neurotic visitor over with its natural serenity. Cherry blossom season is particularly phenomenal, coating the entire garden with an accent of pink and red, just the right dash of color needed to catapult the visual experience of the garden into the next stratosphere.
3. Kirtenbosch National Botanical Garden, Cape Town, South Africa
Seeking a less refined beauty? Look no further than the Kirtenbosch National Botanical Garden, South Africa's addition to the list. Indeed, unlike many of the other locations below, Kirtenbosch exhibits only indigenous plants, adding a particularly local flavor to its aesthetics. That, in combination with the unique, winding paths, and the rugged peak of neighboring Table Mountain, makes the garden particularly unforgettable, an oasis that completely reflects the beauty and charm of its surrounding land.
2. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England
If Victorian-era aesthetics is your thing, than the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England is all you could have ever asked for and more. Indeed, this 300-acre park is just about as British as you could get, featuring its own private explorer train, and the cool-weather Davies Alpine House, one of the largest greenhouses in the world. And, as if that weren't enough, the gardens are unbelievably diverse. Home to the largest collection of plants in Europe, you could spend a lifetime in the gardens and still not explore every botanical nook and cranny.
1. Château de Versailles, Versailles, France
However, the number one spot is reserved for the most iconic garden of them all. Indeed, nothing says decadence and luxury like Versailles, and its gardens are no exception. From the dead-ended paths to the classical fountains, everything in the gardens was made to the specifications of Louis XIV and no expense was spared. He even made a canal for his own personal gondola rides!
However, the garden is more than just a historical relic. Indeed, each stone and flower is just as beautiful as it would have been in the 17th century, offering modern visitors the same kind of tranquility and peace that it would have given French diplomats of old. Which is why, ultimately, Versailles remains the most beautiful garden in the world, a place of quiet reflection that has endured for many centuries already, and almost certainly will endure for many more.
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