The Botanical Garden dates way back—the first garden, Hortus Medicus, was established in 1600 by royal charter and donation. Today, it’s an extensive maze of greenhouses, and truly a wondrous playground. With more than 23,000 living specimens—representing 12,000 different species—the University of Copenhagen-owned Botanical Garden is the country’s largest collection of plants, fungi, and herbaria. Advanced conditions such as open-air beds with varying temperatures and moisture make it possible to feature plants and fungi from all over the world.

Though not all of the greenhouses are accessible to the public, you can still take a peek of the verdant life within. The adjacent Botanical Museum also provides background knowledge to the various plant species, housing thematic exhibitions like “Exotic Species” and perhaps more pragmatically, “Poisonous Plants from Nature.”

We particularly favor the garden in the winter, when the snow freezes over and thousands of icicles string across tree branches. Best of all? Whether in spring bloom or a winter wonderland, the garden is always free.