Situated in Montjuïc Park, the Acclimatisation Gardens are a particularly tranquil space and a large open-air botanical classroom.
Botanical trials
The Acclimatisation Gardens in Barcelona are one of the places of greatest botanical interest in the city, as they were expressly designed as a place for trying to acclimatise plant species. Their history dates back to 1930, when Nicolau Rubió i Tudurí decided to create the largest acclimatisation trial ever carried out in Barcelona in order to enrich the flora of the city’s gardens. The more than 230 species of plants and the exceptional tranquility of the space make these gardens a unique place.
Divided into two levels joined by a large stone stairway, the gardens are home to an extensive variety of flower beds, with creepers and trees that are unique to each of them, and with a sign displaying the name of each plant so visitors do not miss anything. Among the more curious species are the Goldenrain tree from China which is located right at the entrance to the garden, a ziziphus shrub, a white ball acacia, a strawberry myrtle and many more.
A symbolic olive tree
As well as the numerous species of flora found in the garden, it is also home to other valuable features, such as the Barcelona AIDS Memorial which was inaugurated in 2003 and was designed by gardener Lluís Abad. The memorial project was presented to Parks and Gardens by the NGO Projecte dels Noms, set up in 1993 to promote public awareness of AIDS. It is an olive tree, the symbol of peace and eternity, which stands in a flower bed with elongated paving stones on which a poem by Miquel Martí i Pol has been engraved.