The oldest university botanical garden in the world

Established in 1545 to help university students study medicinal plants and observe them in vivo, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.
The Botanical Garden of Padua touches the origin of all such gardens the world over, and has contributed widely to the progress of numerous modern scientific disciplines, in particular botany, medicine, chemistry, ecology and pharmacy.

At the core of the 3.5 hectare site is the Renaissance Hortus Simplicium (‘garden of simples’). Today, the garden is a centre for research and conservation of plant biodiversity, holding 3,500 species of plant life from around the world.

“Nature is ever creating new forms”

J.W.Goethe

Visiting places

Plan your visit

Tuesday – Sunday 
10 am – 5 pm (last admission at 4.15 pm)
24 and 31 December and 1 January 10 am – 2 pm (last admission at 1.15 pm)

Closed on working Mondays, 25 December and 1 January

Our plants

Padua City

of Science

Home to a university that is one of the oldest in Europe, and a standard bearer of the nascent scientific method, Padua is the city of Galileo. Some of its most iconic sites, like the Botanical Garden or the Anatomical Theatre, have provided the template for others all around the world. And today, the Museum of Nature and Humankind aspires to be among the finest examples of university science museums in Europe. Padua City of Science retraces the essential stages in an extraordinary adventure of knowledge and discovery, from the 16th century to the present day. In the footsteps of Giants.

The Garden Times

September 27, 1786. After visiting the Specola (astronomical observatory) and the anatomical theater, Johann Wolfgang Goethe sees the Botanical Garden of Padua, which appears to him as a cheerful and pleasant place. Here, while observing the growth of the European fan palm or St. Peter’s palm (Chamaerops humilis), he gets an insight into plant polymorphism, a concept that’s fundamental to modern plant physiology.