National Botanic Gardens of Ireland

The Gardens and their elegant cast-iron Palm House are a monument to Victorian Belfast, planned by Sir Charles Lanyon – who also designed parts of Queen’s University – and built-in part by Dublin’s Richard Turner.
The gardens are an exotic bubble in the city, with geranium, fuchsia, begonia, and a hornbeam-leafed oak established in the 1880s among the flora and trees. Banana, cinnamon, and orchid plants can all be found in the Tropical Ravine. A playground and bowling green are tucked away among the 150-year-old ferns for those who are more interested in relaxation than horticulture.