Hanbury Botanic Gardens

About the garden

The Hanbury Botanic Gardens are located on La Mortola promontory, near Ventimiglia, in Italy, not far from the French border. The history of the Hanbury Gardens is strongly linked to Sir Thomas Hanbury, who bought the estate in 1867. He turned a 44-acre promontory, originally planted with olive trees and vineyards, into a renowned botanical garden with the collaboration of his brother Daniel, a famous pharmacologist and botanist, as well as his eldest son, Cecil, and his wife Dorothy. The Italian State acquired the property in 1960 and the Hanbury Botanic Gardens are now managed by the Genoa University.

Visitors descend 340ft from the entrance to the sea, winding down numerous paths through nine hectares of gardens. Along the way, they encounter the Australian forest of eucalyptus, the acacia area, bamboos, the succulent collection, the scented garden and the Giardinetti with roses and peonies. Other important collections include citrus trees with many old varieties, as well as exotic fruit trees and tropical climbers.