Hamilton Gardens

An Award Winning Garden Complex On The Waikato River That Tells The History Of Gardening Through A Series Of Fully Enclosed Themed Gardens Italian Renaissance, Japanese, Chinese, Tudor, Maori And More Rather Than A Single Landscaped Park, Free To Enter And Popular Enough To Have Been Named The World'S Best Garden In International Competition · Hamilton, Waikato

Hamilton Gardens sits on a bend of the Waikato River in central Hamilton, and it is not a single landscaped park but a series of fully enclosed themed gardens, each built to recreate a distinct period or culture of garden design. The Paradise Collection walks visitors from an Italian Renaissance garden into a Japanese contemplation garden, a walled Chinese scholar's garden, an English Tudor garden and a Maori productive garden in the space of an afternoon, with newer American, Indian and Concept Gardens added over time. Entry is free, a genuinely notable fact for a garden of this scale and polish, and it draws well over a million visits a year as a result. In 2014 it was named the International Garden of the Year at an industry competition in France, ahead of entries from established European and Asian gardens. Lawns along the river are popular for picnics, and the complex hosts outdoor concerts and a summer festival. It is a council-run, publicly funded garden, not a private attraction - well kept but unpretentious, busiest on weekends and school holidays.

On the Waikato River in central Hamilton, about 1.5 hours south of Auckland, Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand

The gardens themselves are open every day of the year from 7:30am to sunset, with no entry gate and no admission charge - this is genuinely free, unusual for a garden collection of this size. Individual themed gardens, including the enclosed Japanese, Chinese and Indian gardens, close earlier than the grounds overall, typically by 5pm or dusk, whichever is sooner. The information centre and cafe keep shorter daytime hours, roughly 9am to 4:30pm, and close on Christmas Day. Some themed gardens close briefly for maintenance on a rotating basis - check the information centre noticeboard on arrival rather than assuming every garden is open that day.

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