A botanical garden is a natural space dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of a large range of plant species for education or scientific purposes, apart from offering beautiful scenery. Here are four botanical gardens and be sure to add them to your must-visit list.

San Francisco Botanical Garden

The garden in the Golden Gate Park is 55 acres in size and home to nearly 9, 000 plant varieties from around the world. It contains several smaller gardens that mimic environments from around the globe. It mission is to connect people to plants and instill a deep understanding of the need for environmental conservation

Hawaii Tropical Botanic Garden

It is located on Hawaii’s big island with its entire conservation area of over 100 acres and over 2, 500 plant varieties. The garden provides guided tours and plenty of resources for   educators to help their students learn about the planet. It also works with the University of Hawaii to serve as a research centre for biodiversity.

Desert Botanical Garden

Located in Phoenix, Arizona, it is a magnificent place full of cacti, succulents, and other desert plant. With 140 acres and 50. 000 different plants in its unique botanical garden, visitors can learn about what organisms thrive in one of the hottest and driest parts of the world—the Sonoran Desert.

Huntington

Located in San Marino, California, it is a research institution that includes about 120 acres of landscaped gardens that showcase plants from all over the world. It has a conservation program that maintains a seed bank and tissue culture lab. This way, it can help protect any endangered species, variety, or breed.

FOKUS GALLERY: KARIN AND AKE HELLMAN

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Artists Karin Hellman and Ake Hellman were in many ways a unique artist couple. Over the course of a long life spent together, they shared both a profession and a studio in Porvoo, where they worked for several decades. The works in the exhibition were selected from the donation made by the Karin and Ake Hellman estate to the Ateneum Art Museum/Finnish National Gallery in 2019.

MA GNUS ENCKELL

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The painter Magnus Enckell is known especially as a representative of Finnish symbolism. The exhibition offered a good overview of the works of one of the most significant names of the golden age of Finish art, and regarded him as a great cultural influencer.

COLLECTIONS EXHIBITION STORIES OF FINNISH ART

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The Ateneum Art Museum has the country’s oldest and largest art collection. The collections exhibition presents well-loved and seldom-exhibited works of art. On display, side by side, are Finnish and international masterpieces from our collections, such as Le Corbusier ‘s Two Women, Edvard Munch’s Bathing Men and Hugo Simberg’s The Wounded Angel.

SATURDAY WORKSHOPS

On Saturdays

Attend Saturday workshops and become familiar with various art techniques! Both adults and children are welcome in the workshops. Admission is free for those under 18 years old.

The workshops are recommended for children aged 5 and up. Children under the age of 10 must be accompanied by an adult. The workshops include instructions, necessary materials and equipment. Each workshop lasts for 1 hour and 15 minutes. The Saturday workshops are not for groups.

With 60 miles of canals and nearly 7,000 buildings dating from the 18th century or earlier, Amsterdam is one of Europe’s best preserved cities. Here are some of our favorites.

The Concertgebouw

A free classical concert in one of the world’s greatest concert halls? Sounds too good to be true, but every Wednesday at lunchtime that’s exactly what’s on offer at the Concertgebouw. The latest series just started up again this month and will run through June. You can pick up a free ticket (one per person) on the day of the show starting at 11:30 a.m.; the concert takes place from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Rijksmuseum Gardens

Take a walk in the beautiful formal gardens of the Rijksmuseum, which are dotted with fascinating artworks. There’s a life-size chessboard, a fountain by contemporary Danish artist Jeppe Hein, and post-war climbing frames by architect Aldo van Eyck. The gardens also host sculpture exhibitions — currently there are 21 sculptures on show by the Spanish artist Joan Miró until October 11.

The Muziektheater

This important opera, dance and music venue has free weekly lunchtime concerts by top performers on Tuesdays from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. in the entrance hall, from September to May. Once or twice a month, the concert is followed by a free tour of the theatre — check the website for details.

Central Library

At the Netherlands’ biggest library, the Centrale Bibliotheek, you can read the international papers for free, and while Wi-Fi isn’t completely free, you can purchase 30 minutes for little more than a dollar by using one of the ticket machines. Upstairs on the 7th floor there is a café with a balcony that boasts wonderful city views.