Where is the public entrance to the garden?

Visitors enter the grounds at Plaza de Murillo beside the Prado Museum.

Which organization oversees the garden?

The site operates under the direction of the Spanish National Research Council.

Who designed the layout of the grounds on Paseo del Prado?

Architects Francesco Sabatini and Juan de Villanueva planned the tiered terraces.

What classification system was used to organize the plants?

Botanical specimens followed the ordering system developed by Linnaeus.

Which expedition contributed a major collection of plants to the garden?

Alessandro Malaspina brought a substantial botanical shipment to Spain that expanded the garden collection.

Where was the garden located before moving to Paseo del Prado?

The initial planting took place at the Orchard of Migas Calientes beside the Manzanares River.

Madrid · Spain

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

Tenants settling along the Paseo del Prado corridor take their morning work to these gravel terraces, trading apartment confinement for shaded grounds right next to the museum quarter.

Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid · CC BY-SA 4.0

Map of places

Around here24

Exchange rate€0.89per 1 $EUR — the local currencyas of Nov 2, 2026

About the place

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid operates as an active research facility behind the Prado Museum, combining historic terraced grounds with scientific fieldwork under the national research council.

King Ferdinand initiated the institution at the Orchard of Migas Calientes using the botanical collection of José Quer y Martínez. King Charles later relocated the entire layout to Paseo del Prado. Architects Francesco Sabatini and Juan de Villanueva enclosed the grounds with iron fencing and built terraced levels arranged by the Linnaean method to teach botany and classify plants arriving from overseas expeditions.

Read on

Expeditions led by Alessandro Malaspina expanded the herbarium, but the War of Independence forced the facility into abandonment. Director Mariano de la Paz Graells revived the grounds with an added greenhouse and an animal collection that later moved to Parque del Buen Retiro. A severe cyclone and government property transfers reduced the perimeter before the Spanish National Research Council took control.

Associations

Paseo del PradoThe royal administration moved the living collection to this boulevard.
Plaza de MurilloThe public gate stands on this square right beside the Prado Museum.
Linnaean botanyTerraces were designed specifically to arrange flora by scientific classification.
Storm and cyclone damageHistoric trees suffered major losses during severe weather events.

Facts

The main entrance opens at Plaza de Murillo adjacent to the Prado Museum.
Architects Francesco Sabatini and Juan de Villanueva designed the terraced grounds.
The Spanish National Research Council oversees the scientific operations of the garden.
An early animal menagerie established on the grounds was transferred to Parque del Buen Retiro.

Updated September 9, 2026Source: Wikipedia

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

What is around24

Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid operates as an active research facility behind the Prado Museum, combining historic terraced grounds with scientific fieldwork under the national research council.

Getting there and staying

Similar nearby