If you are a garden lover and you are traveling to Rome, be sure to include a stop at the Orto Botanico, Rome's Botanical Gardens. The entrance can be found at the end of Via Corsini, at the bottom of the Janiculum hills. With gently rolling hills and wide paths, the gardens are serene and peaceful. They cover about 12 hectares of land and boast a collection of over 3,500 plants.

Upon entering the botanical gardens, you will see several small paths to follow, along with an impressive collection of succulents from North America and South Africa. Begin your tour by following the central path of the garden, which is called the "Palm Promenade". On both sides of the path, you will find dwarf palm trees, including the Chamaerops humilis, which is the only native palm tree in Italy.

At the end of the central path is the fountain of the Tritons. The fountain was built around 1750, by the Italian architect Ferdinando Fuga (1699-1781). Compared to most fountains in Rome, this one is small and is in bad shape, but like most fountains, it does have historical significance.

Continue to follow the path to the left, where you will come to the rose garden. This garden was first established during the Baroque period in the 17th and 18th century. Due to this fact, the majority of roses featured in the garden are the same type of roses that would have been grown during that time period.

Staying to the left, the path slopes slightly downward and leads into a large collection of ferns. The ferns featured are from species from Europe and East Asia. The ferns surround a small pond and continue growing up the side of the hill. The path turns into a beautiful rock staircase that climbs the hill. At the top, there is a small patch of bamboo from East Asia.

Continuing past the bamboo, you will come to the rock garden, with its collection of plants that are typically found in mountainous areas. Included in this collection are ornamental irises. Looking ahead, beyond the borders of the botanical garden, you can see the fountain of Acqua Paola.

As the path climbs, it comes to a Japanese garden. The main features include a small pond and pavilion. The garden was built between 1990 and 1994 and from the pavilion you can see into the centre of Rome itself. From here, the path turns to the right and enters a wooded area, which recreates the forest that once covered Rome.

As you leave the wooded area, you come upon the Monumental Staircase. The architect Fuga built it in 1732 and it is the most impressive architectural piece in the whole garden. Next to the staircase is a gigantic plane-tree that is over 350 years old. Nearby, a stump is all that remains of another plane-tree.

As you continue along the path, you will come to another small pond, featuring koi fish. They are cute to watch, but the fish are very shy and like to hide under rock ledges. The next stop is the medicinal herb garden, which contains over 300 medicinal plants. Many of these plants would have been in use during the Renaissance and the Baroque period.

After leaving the medicinal herb garden, you will come upon three greenhouses, each one with its own purpose. The Corsini greenhouse is used to grow succulents, while orchids are grown in the Monumental greenhouse. Tropical plants are grown in the Tropical greenhouse, hence the name.

You have now seen most of the botanical garden. Before you exit, however, check out the aromatic herb garden. Here, you are allowed to touch all of the plants because the garden was made for people who are blind. Each plant grown here is labelled in Braille and has its own unique texture and aroma.