Hamilton Gardens
A themed garden named World's Best Garden of the Year. Italian Renaissance, Chinese scholar's, Indian Mughal and more than a dozen other gardens tell the story of garden history.
Hamilton Gardens covers about 54 hectares. Its core is the 'Paradise Gardens' series: more than a dozen themed gardens, including an Italian Renaissance garden, a Chinese scholar's garden, a Japanese Zen garden, an English garden, an Indian Chahar Bagh garden, an ancient Egyptian garden, and Te Parapara, a traditional Māori cultivation garden. Each is carefully built after its historical prototype. In 2014, the gardens won the World's Best Garden of the Year award at the International Garden Tourism Awards. There are also a tropical garden, a surrealist garden, a Tudor garden and a herb garden. Themed areas charge international visitors about NZ$20, while locals enter free. Opening hours are about 09:00 to 17:00, and a visit takes around 2 to 3 hours. The gardens are about 3 km southeast of the city center and have free parking.
Opening hours
Themed area approx. 09:00–17:00; outer area 07:30–sunset
Nearby sights
- Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato
- Waikato River Paths & Te Awa River Ride
- Hamilton Lake Domain (Lake Rotoroa)
- Hamilton Zoo
- Zealong Tea Estate
- Cambridge
- Hakarimata Summit Track
- Lake Karapiro