The National Gardens (Εθνικός Κήπος) or the Royal Gardens is a public park in Athens located near Greek Parliament.
The National Gardens were created between 1838 and 1840.
The work was supervised by the German agronomist Friedrich Schmidt. In the beginning park was called "Royal", but in 1920 it was renamed to "National".
The National Gardens also has the third name - "Amalia's Garden", in honor of Queen Amalia of Oldenburg, the founder of the park.
The area of the park is 15.5 hectares.
The garden has 7000 trees, 40,000 bushes and other plants (519 different species).
There are six lakes in the national garden, with ducks, turtles and other animals.
Also there is a small free mini-zoo, a playground and a cafe.
How to get to the Athens National Garden
The most convenient way to get to the National Garden is metro Syntagma station.
The park has 7 entrances / exits: the central one is on Amalias Avenue, another one on Vasilissis Sophias Avenue, third on Irodou Attikou street and two more on the side of Zappeion Park.
National Gardens on the map:
Working hours
The park is open all year round, "from dawn to dusk". The exact closing time is not indicated, but in the late afternoon, employees go around the park and warn visitors about the imminent closure.
Price
Free admission