If you are spending some time in Barcelona and need to get away for a while from the bustle of the city, today’s proposal on “one-day trips around Barcelona” will be perfect for you. From ShBarcelona’s blog we invite you to discover the Marimurtra Botanical Garden, located in the town of Blanes, in the province of Girona. It was created almost 90 years ago by the German Carl Faust, a botany passionate, with the initial idea for it to become the International Mediterranean Biological Station, and has finished being one of the oldest and most valuable botanical gardens in Europe, very interesting from a landscape point of view, as well as in the biological field of conservation, research and outreach.
The name Marimurtra comes from the will to unite in a single word the two ecosystems that surround this lush garden, located in the mountains, but with stunning views over the Mediterranean Sea, where the Costa Brava starts. It is commendable that today, when most of the plant species are disappearing around the world, there are spaces that are fully dedicated to the conservation of several of them to keep and show people the biodiversity, creating awareness in the visitor’s mind within a natural environment.
Marimurtra Botanical Garden covers an area of 4 hectares of alive plants and shows over than 3,000 species corresponding to subtropical, temperate and Mediterranean climates around the world, including some unique species very difficult to see and a forest of about 10 hectares. Inside Marimurtra and in addition to the gardens of each climate zone, you’ll find all kinds of facilities that require a place with a scientific activity: greenhouses, garden center, a laboratory, a specialized library, a weather station, a herbarium, A genebank and even a shop.
Going through the entrance you will find a nineteenth-century building by the architect Josep Goday, from which you begin your walk through trails and idyllic landscapes that will take you to other continents. Goethe Square stands as the starting point for one of the most charming gazebos of this part of the Catalan coast and into the temple of Linné, which overlooks the sea and is not suitable for those who suffer from vertigo. If you follow the line of the cliff from there, you will discover three viewpoints more for your enjoyment. The Botanical Garden’s teaching vocation is obvious in areas like organic cultivations, or the Mendel area, dedicated to the dissemination of ethnobotanical and genetic knowledge.
Marimurtra is a living garden constantly changing depending on the year season, with blooming species, so, you should visit it several times if you want to enjoy all its glory.
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