The Gardens, with its exquisite cast-iron Palm House, are a Victorian Belfast landmark designed by Sir Charles Lanyon – who also designed sections of Queen’s University – and constructed in part by Dublin’s Richard Turner.
The gardens are an exotic bubble in the city, featuring geranium, fuchsia, begonia, and an 1880s hornbeam-leafed oak among the flora and trees. The Tropical Ravine is home to banana, cinnamon, and orchid plants. For those who are more interested in leisure than gardening, a playground and bowling green are hidden away amid the 150-year-old ferns.