The botanical gardens in Utrecht have been on my list for a bit now. I can’t believe I never went there before, not even when I lived in the city. But, once again, we were looking for things to do in our own country and since we wanted to visit Utrecht again, we decided to start the day in the botanical gardens.

The botanical gardens aren’t located in the city center, but at the Uithof, which is one of the main locations of Utrecht University. In fact, the gardens, or Hortus is part of the University, and is located on campus, maybe 10 minutes away from the city center. Visitors can easily visit, however. If you’re going by car, park at the Park and Ride at Utrecht Uithof, and if you’re visiting from the city center, you can take bus 81 or the subway. We parked our car at the P&R which is one of the cheaper locations in Utrecht to park your car, and as a bonus, you get to travel by bus for free.

The gardens are divided into different areas and as can be expected, there are lots of gorgeous flowers and trees to be found. Everywhere there were (bumble)bees and butterflies flying around and it was all so lovely. It wasn’t crowded at all, though the city itself was, so it was nice to get out of the busy city for a while.

There isn’t much I can say, it’s just all in the pictures. It is said that these are the most beautiful botanical gardens to be found in the Netherlands and they were really gorgeous indeed. There was a huge pond in the middle, a rock garden, a bamboo forest and some greenhouses.

It really was a lovely place. We spent quite some time inside, just enjoying the sunny weather, the smell of the beautiful flowers all around us, and the peace and quiet that can be found inside.

My absolute favourite part was the butterfly garden inside one of the greenhouses. Not a lot of people were allowed inside at the same time, but there was no limit on the number of butterflies inside! Wow, I have never seen such a thing, it was amazing. Gorgeous, colorful butterflies everywhere, some of them just posing for the photographers among us, others being less easy to capture, but that didn’t stop me from trying!

After spending quite some time inside, it was time to get lunch before heading into the city center. You can have a yummy lunch at the garden café, traditional Dutch dishes like kroketten or old cheese, but also a variety of vegetarian dishes.

We had a marvelous time. If you’re visiting Utrecht, make sure to plan a visit here, it’s really one of the highlights of the city!