REVEALED: Europe’s Top-Rated Gardens

Royal Botanic Garden in Kew is amongst the best top-rated gardens in Europe, new research has revealed.

The research, conducted by Paving Superstore, analysed TripAdvisor’s top 50 suggested destinations for “gardens”, including collating the average rating and number of reviews for each attraction, before multiplying these figures together to form an overall score.

Based on these scores, the 10 best top-rated gardens in Europe included:

1. Luxembourg Gardens, Paris in France
2. Real Alcazar de Sevilla, Seville in Spain
3. English Garden, Munich in Germany
4. Quinta de Regaleria, Sintra in Portugal
5. Musee Rodin, Paris in France
6. Keukenhof, Lisse in Netherlands
7. Gereralife, Granada in Spain
8. Schonbrunner Gardens, Vienna in Austria
9. Royal Botanic Garden, Kew in England
10. Monte Palace Madeira, Funchal in Portugal

With almost 35,000 reviews, Luxembourg Gardens in Paris, France took the top spot, with an average rating of 4.5 out of 5. Real Alcazar de Sevilla in Seville, Spain took a close second, whilst English Garden in Munich, Germany; Quinta de Regaleria, in Sintra, Portugal; and Musee Rodin, in Paris, France made up the remainder of the top 5.

Gardens based in England featured 10 times, making up 20% of the top 50 gardens in Europe, as suggested by TripAdvisor. Taking 9th place overall, Royal Botanic Garden Kew was the first appearance for England, with an average rating of 4.5 from 8,491 reviews, closely following by Chatsworth House in Bakewell, Derbyshire (11th place overall).

Regent’s Park in London (#22), The Lost Gardens of Heligan in Pentewan, Cornwall (#23), Arundel Castle and Gardens in Arundel, West Sussex (#30), Trebah Garden in Mawnan Smith, Cornwall (#33), RHS Garden in Wisley, Surrey (#35), National Trust Cliveden in Taplow, Buckinghamshire (#45), Winterbourne House and Gardens in Birmingham (#46), and Highgrove Gardens in Tetbury, Cotswolds (#47) also featured in the top 50.

Also proving popular, gardens based in Italy and France featured 9 times each, followed by Germany (4), Portugal and Scotland (3), and Austria and Czech Republic (2). Gardens based in the Netherlands, and Malta were also featured in the top 50 list.

Georgina Read, Director at Paving Superstore commented:

“If you’ve been inspired by the European gardens mentioned in our research, why not optimise your favourite European gardens in your own home! Clever choices on which flowers, plants, and topiary to include, as well as mimicking layouts and landscaping from your favourite garden, are a great place to start.

“For Parisian look, keep a perfectly maintained lawn lined with colourful flowers, or opt for native flora, such as iris flowers or lilies, for a more muted palette. Choosing the right garden paving can also the perfect way to transform your outdoor space – mainly used to guide guests around the gardens to specific focal points or spots of interest, paving can also be used as another design feature in your own garden”. 

For more information on the research, including information on each of the 50 gardens analysed, visit: https://www.pavingsuperstore.co.uk/blog/50-top-rated-gardens-in-europe/