Kaisaniemi Botanical Garden

My Museum Buddy and I: Kaisaniemi Botanical Garden

"Giant water lilies can be found, but the princess and the frog are missing."

Right next to the Central Railway Station, in the middle of Kaisaniemi Park, you'll find an incredibly wonderful place that's absolutely worth visiting with children too. We visited Kaisaniemi Botanical Garden on a spring Saturday with my almost five-year-old museum buddy, since we've so often wondered about and admired the giant water lilies that even appear in the Hooray Helsinki! book. And we saw them!

As we step through the garden gates, you feel like you've entered another world: already in early May, the park is blooming with colorful flowers, the trees have buds and various twisted branches. My museum buddy gets excited about the different paths in the outdoor garden and the curb stones along the paths, and practices walking along them through the front garden. The glass greenhouse in the yard also interests us, as it's home to two small pigs, although they're wooden ones but just the right size for a child's liking. The glass greenhouse also has a table and a couple of chairs, and we check with the museum attendant whether we could stop by here for a picnic anyway. Next door, in a light blue side building, Café Viola operates, so you don't always have to remember to pack a packed lunch. In the garden area, on the mowed lawn, you can eat your own packed lunches, as long as you take care of the garden's cleanliness.

[caption id="attachment_4169" align="aligncenter" width="768"] In the small glass greenhouse of Kaisaniemi Botanical Garden's outdoor garden, you can eat even packed lunches.[/caption]

We head inside and pay for admission (a museum card works and children under 7 enter free). If you had a stroller, you could leave it in the entrance around the corner, as it's challenging to move around in the greenhouses with one. With narrow and easily tipping strollers you can visit the indoor greenhouses if necessary, but it's easier if the smallest adventurers are placed in a carrier backpack. The entrance hall also has coat hooks and lockable cabinets, as well as restrooms and a functional childcare room. The greenhouses are warm and humid, so jackets and heavier clothes should definitely be left on the coat rack to wait.

[caption id="attachment_4191" align="aligncenter" width="768"] The Palm House is hot and it rains from time to time.[/caption]

In the first greenhouse, the Palm House, it's tropical warm and we occasionally get a spray rain. A small fountain makes an impression on my museum buddy and we return to watch it several more times. This is the highest and most spectacular of the greenhouses, old and beautiful already as a building alone. Palms and bamboos stretch high and reach for the ceiling, and we wander through the trees as if in a jungle.

[caption id="attachment_4189" align="aligncenter" width="768"] The fountain in the Palm House.[/caption]

The adventure continues through the Savanna Room, where we were greeted by a giraffe and a rhinoceros. My museum buddy also notices a sign warning about poisonous plants, which we search for throughout the rest of our visit along the garden. One approach to the world of plants, this too.

After the Savanna, we peek into the Desert Room, the South Africa Room, and the Island Room, but since my museum buddy knows that the giant water lilies are just a few doors away, the more detailed exploration of these rooms will have to wait for another visit.

[caption id="attachment_4188" align="aligncenter" width="592"] In the Savanna Room you can see a giraffe and a rhinoceros.[/caption]

The Water Lily Room doesn't disappoint and exceeds expectations. We admire giant water lilies floating on the water and other sized water lily leaves, sometimes sitting on a bench, sometimes wondering by the edge of the pool. The Water Lily Room's atmosphere is wonderful and the soundscape pleasant. A frog would certainly suit diving in the water lily pool, which loss the entrance attendant had mentioned regretting to us, but fortunately a princess is found in the museum buddy's pocket. After a moment of wondering, we continue our journey, but I manage to promise that we'll return here many more times and come to see the lilies bloom. If seeing the water lilies is the most important thing for your little ones too, it's worth noting that the water lilies are visible during the bright months and are at their largest in late summer.

After the Water Lily Room comes the Mediterranean Room, where orchids are blooming and the scent is intoxicating. But since the most anticipated highlight of the trip has already been seen and the Palm House fountain comes to my museum buddy's mind again, we return by the familiar route.

[caption id="attachment_4193" align="aligncenter" width="768"] The Water Lily Room is a wonderful experience and a place you have to see for yourself.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4194" align="aligncenter" width="681"] Even the princess was delighted by the giant water lilies.[/caption]

We admire the impressive Palm House for a moment more and peek into the other main room of the garden, where African Violets are blooming and a small waterfall is splashing. The visit culminates in a coin thrown into the wishing well in the African Violet room.

[caption id="attachment_4198" align="aligncenter" width="768"] The wishing well at Kaisaniemi Botanical Garden.[/caption]

Kaisaniemi Botanical Garden, both in terms of the outdoor garden and the greenhouses, is a wonderful adventure and a beautiful place that visits are forgotten too often. A trip here with children is definitely worthwhile, as the garden has much to see and experience for the little ones too. Outdoor garden entry is free, there is an admission fee for the indoor greenhouses. Also remember that there is free admission approximately once a month on Fridays from 2-5 p.m., you can find the exact dates here. A Helsinki gem!