The Hortus Botanicus in Amsterdam is one of the oldest botanic gardens in the world. In its gardens and greenhouses you can find around 4000 species of plants from all over the world.

Originally The Hortus was established as a hortus medicus, a medical herb garden. In the 17th century herbs where used as ingredients for medicine. At that time doctors studied the medicinal plants at The Hortus.

The greenhouses

The main reason I wanted to visit The Hortus Botanicus was for their impressive greenhouses. 

The butterfly greenhouse

The smallest greenhouse is the butterfly greenhouse. In this greenhouse you can see tropical butterflies up close.

The palm greenhouse

The oldest greenhouse is the palm greenhouse which was built in 1912.
In this greenhouse you can find a large collection of Palms, Cycads and other pot plants.

The three climate greenhouse

The three climate greenhouse, Designed in 1993 by Zwarts & Jansma Architects, is probably the most impressive of all. 

This greenhouse is split up into three different zones with different climates: the subtropics, the desert, and the tropics.

Currently The Hortus is working completely renovating this greenhouse in a sustainable manner. The layout will also be changed to tell the story of biodiversity and climate.

Tickets can be purchased through their website:

www.dehortus.nl/en