110
Visiting new cities can be a tiring exercise. Maybe that’s a contributing factor to why I fell into the habit of visiting botanic gardens. Except for maybe Kew in London and Jadin des Plantes in Paris, my general experience is that botanic gardens are places in otherwise busy cities where you can get a break from the crowds.
This was definitely the case in the Botanical Garden of Barcelona. The garden lies on the Montjuïc hill, which is surrounded by the city on all sides. In the late 1800s the woods on the hill, where people traditionally had been grazing animals, were partially cleared to open space for parks. Today, the hill is still very green, with several smaller gardens and also some sports stadiums and a couple of museums. Barcelona, as you know, is a very popular place to visit. When I had to stay the night, due to train connections on my journey from Lyon to San Sebastian in October 2018, I decided to extend my trip and walk around in Barcelona for a day.
It wasn’t peak tourist season, but god, were there many people with cameras around their neck (or, their smartphones always at the ready). Being around so many people can be distracting, and definitely tiring. It was also a really humid day, which didn’t help. But as soon as I got beyond the National Museum of Art (Montjuïc’s top attraction), the crowds completely dissipated and the air somehow became easier to breathe. The garden entrance lies a short walk from the art museum, and yet there were almost no other visitors there. I could explore all on my own, marvel at the plants and the interesting architecture – but also at the incredible view of Barcelona that can be enjoyed from the top of the garden. I don’t understand how more people hadn’t found their way there. Or maybe it was just an off day, who knows. Either way, I thought wandering around on those concrete paths among the olive trees and cacti was a day really well spent in Barcelona.
Photo: Jardí Botànic de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, October 2018. Posted on Instagram March 26, 2021.
Katja Malmborg 