I visited Padua on the same day as Vicenza. They’re only about a half-hour apart by train, but you’ll have to make an early start and plan your trip well. I had pre-booked a visit to Padua’s most renowned sight, the Cappella degli Scrovegni (on Italy’s Tentative List), but arrived way too late to make the allocated time slot.

So I just walked on to the Botanical Garden. It is located on the other side of town from the railway station. The station area is rather scruffy, and the center of town also lacks atmosphere. The Garden however is a real oasis, pleasing to the senses and to my feet where all the walking was taking its toll. After paying a 4 EUR entrance fee you’re free to drop down on one of the benches in the garden. There were quite a number of other visitors around, even a bored-looking Belgian school class.

After giving my feet a rest, I roamed around the garden for an hour or so, trying to capture the few blossoming flowers on camera. The oldest plant around is the so-called Goethe palm, which dates from 1585. It was visited by Goethe in 1786, who got inspired by it to write about evolution. The palm nowadays is covered by a glasshouse.

The area is quite small, and the idea that everything has been here for such a long time is more interesting than the site itself. The nearby Basilica del Santo is worth a look when you've visited the garden.