Trying to escape the crowds downtown, around the Rubens House, and the market in Antwerp on a Saturday afternoon, I stumbled by chance into this small sanctuary.
This small, enchanting Botanical Garden just two minutes from the Rubens Museum was a green haven in the city center for me. With exceptional shrubs and trees, over 2,000 herbs, cacti, and other foreign plants it is a world in one garden.
Built almost 200 years ago, it initially grew only medicinal plants to supply the St Elisabeth’s hospital next door. Now it has even a glasshouse to grow tropical plants. It is open on weekends: Saturdays from 13.30 till 15.45 and on Sundays from 10:00 till 13.00.
A restaurant and lots of benches throughout the garden invite visitors to rest and "smell the roses".
