National Botanic Gardens

Founded in 1795, the 19.5-hectare National Botanic Gardens are directly north of the centre, flanked to the north by the River Tolka. In the gardens is a series of curvilinear glasshouses, dating from 1843 to 1869, created by Richard Turner, who was also responsible for the glasshouse at Belfast Botanic Gardens and the Palm House in London’s Kew Gardens. Within these Victorian masterpieces you will find the latest in botanical technology, including a series of computer-controlled climates reproducing environments of different parts of the world. Among the pioneering botanical work conducted here was the first attempt to raise orchids from seed, back in 1844; pampas grass and the giant lily were also first grown in Europe in these gardens.