Australian National Botanic Gardens

On the lower slopes of Black Mountain, the national gardens hold the most comprehensive living collection of Australian native plants in the country - more than five thousand species gathered from every corner of the continent. The Rainforest Gully runs cool and dripping through the heart of the site, the eucalypt lawn spreads a museum of gum trees, and the red-centre garden recreates arid-zone country around a sculpted rock. Boardwalks and shaded paths make for gentle walking, and the birdlife is exceptional. Free to enter and devoted entirely to the flora of Australia, it is the best single place to learn the continent's plants.