Royal Botanic Gardens

Declared an Artistic Garden in 1942, its collections include an outstanding herbarium with more than a million entries, the library and the archive - with nearly 10,000 drawings - as well as the exhibition of 5,500 species of live plants.

Guided tours are offered in order to know the multitude of species that inhabit this green corner of the city centre, from onions or roses to the most exotic plants. The route through the garden and its greenhouses combines general botanic content, curiosities, history, the singularity of its examples, uses of the plants and their importance in our lives.

The Botanical Garden’s current location is not coincidental. Rather, it is the result of the enlightened monarch Carlos III’s wish to create a complex dedicated to the natural sciences in Madrid. That is why it is next to what is now the Prado Museum, which was built in the late 18th century to house the Museum of Natural History. Its scientific spirit is still alive, as the garden is currently managed by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Spain’s National Scientific Research Council), which organises all kinds of educational activities such as conferences and exhibitions.

In June 2024, the Royal Botanical Garden and Fundación de Cultura Islámica launched the "Andalusí Route", a self-guided tour created through the desire to show and highlight the natural heritage of Al-Andalus. An invitation to explore and travel to Islamic Spain from the eighth to the fifteenth centuries through the colours and aromas of a selection of 15 plants that grow in the Royal Botanical Garden, many of them linked to food, medicine, pharmacopoeia or ornamentation.

There is another route around the garden to explore unique trees, a tour of 15 specimens that stand out in terms of their longevity, monumental size or because they are historical specimens associated with the tradition of the Garden.