Summer evening in the Gardens - 12 June '25

The Gardens are open extra-long every Thursday in June. Take the audio tour in the Evolution garden, enjoy the sunset and admire the Evolution garden after dark. Or join one of the guided tours (in Dutch).

Atmosphere-enhancing music will be provided this evening by the Bezwaren Fanfare.

Guided tour Fort Hoofddijk

Fort Hoofddijk is part of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie (New Dutch Waterline) and was used in the late nineteenth century to defend our country from invading neighbors. When the arrival of airplanes made the water line redundant during World War II, Fort Hoofddijk became vacant. But since 1963, the fort has been inhabited again. Now it does not house soldiers, but scientists who study the earth's magnetic field.

Guided tour Evolution Garden 

The new Evolution Garden at Utrecht University Botanic Gardens is unique. Here you will time travel from the first plants, the algae, all the way to the flowering plants. Walk yourself through 900 million years of plant evolution and discover how and when certain plants came into being and what significance this had for life on earth.

Guided tour Tropical greenhouses

The Tropical greenhouses consists of a Tropical part, the Subtropical part, the Collection greenhouses, the Climbing corridor and the Butterfly greenhouse. In the Tropical greenhouse you will find the truly tropical plants. The Subtropical greenhouse includes the tub plants or ‘Cape crops’, such as Orange (Citrus spp.) and Angel's trumpet (Brugmansia spp.). Some of the planting here is permanent, but many of the tub plants go outside in summer.

Food and beverage

Want to eat beforehand at Tuincafe Botanica?
Then reserve a spot at info@tuincafebotanica.nl and indicate that you will be participating in the tours.
The first tours start at 8:00 pm. We therefore recommend getting to the table no later than 6:30 p.m.

Would you like to order a to-go drinks bag? Please, send a message to info@tuincafebotanica.nl