 Imperial grandeur in Vienna
Schoenbrunn Palace is Austria’s number one tourist attraction, but as many people are attracted by the remarkable imperial gardens as the Baroque palace itself. Empress Maria Theresa conceived the gardens as a continuation of the palace’s rooms, opening up amazing views by carrying out landscaping on a breathtaking scale to transform what had gone before into a grand formal garden complete with statuary, classical buildings and intimate hideaways. Nearly all the original architectural features remain, including the Gloriette, Neptune Fountain and Roman Ruin, while newer features based on historical precedents have been added, such as the Maze and Privy Garden. If you’re planning a visit, be aware that electronic tickets with precise entry and exit times are issued in order to keep numbers within manageable levels and minimise environmental impact. Booking in advance is essential in high season. airBaltic flies to Vienna from Riga on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Animal home from home in Berlin  With its own metro station, Berlin’s Zoo and Gardens couldn’t be easier to reach. The 35-hectare site opened to the public in 1844 and has provided a green oasis in the heart of the city ever since, though its role has evolved over the years. Today, the zoo is less about staring at animals in cages than it is about trying to preserve and recreate rare habitats in order to keep endangered species alive for future generations.
One of Berlin Zoo’s characteristic features is its juxtaposition of historical and modern animal houses. You enter via a grand reconstruction of an 1899 Elephant gate and eventually find your way to the ultramodern Hippopotamus House which uses two huge, curving glass roofs to recreate the steamy African jungle. But the biggest attraction comes from chillier climes. Knut the polar bear is the Zoo’s own superstar. Born on Dec. 5, 2006 he was the first polar bear to be born in Berlin for over 30 years. airBaltic flies to Berlin from Riga every workday 3 times a day, on Saturdays once a day and on Sundays twice a day, but from Vilnius every day except Tuesdays and Thursdays. Gardens galore in Gothenburg  The rocky shoreline of Gothenburg plays host to a selection of notable gardens, with enough to satisfy even the most fervent gardener. Perhaps that’s not as surprising as it might appear given that this is where Carl von Linne, better known as Linnaeus, devised the system of classifying plants and animals that is still in use today.
A museum dedicated to the great man can be found here, too, complete with herb garden. From June 28 until September 28, the gardens of Gothenburg host one of Northern Europe’s largest flower and garden exhibitions. Gothenburg Botanical Garden, Gunnebo House and Gardens, Liseberg Park and the Garden Society of Gothenburg each will offer a totally different experience for visitors. The famous Botanical Garden features more than 20,000 different species of plants. Gunnebo House and Gardens is an 18th century park in a modern light. Liseberg, a city park, will feature creative workshops to complement the planting and landscape, some of which will become permanent. airBaltic flies to Gothenburg from Riga every day except Saturdays. Roman inspiration for gardeners everywhere The Tivoli Gardens (or more correctly, the gardens of the Villa d’Este as Tivoli is the nearby small town just east of Rome) can probably claim to be the most influential gardens ever created, prompting gardeners from all over the world to visit, take notes and try to build their own Tivolis back home. As a result, Tivoli Gardens can now be found everywhere from Copenhagen to Ljubljana. Designed to impress the guests of Cardinal Ippolito d’Este in the 1550s, the gardens incorporate amazing water features, from the grand Dragons’ Fountain and Hundred Fountains, to the gigantic Water Organ Fountain, feeding into dozens of shady pools and streams. Some of the inspiration was drawn from the nearby Villa Adriana, the Emperor Hadrian’s private rest and recuperation retreat with its own impressive classical gardens. airBaltic flies to Rome from Riga every day except Mondays and Thursdays, and from Vilnius on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Worth a queue to see the glories of Kew Established in 1840 as a scientific centre by the Royal Horticultural Society, the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, London, still has an important research role to play (its ‘seed bank’ is of international importance) but most visitors come to see its incredible variety of trees, plants and shrubs. It’s easy to spend a full day wandering the beautiful Broad Walk and exploring the extraordinary glasshouses which are among the most impressive achievements of Victorian engineering. Some are so huge they even have full-grown palmtrees inside. There’s plenty of information and special activities for children exploring subjects like bugs and butterflies, ensuring little visitors will never get bored. If you want a flavour of the gardens without paying the admission fee, follow the signs for the Thames Path, which runs alongside part of the gardens. It’s a pleasant walk in its own right, is completely free, and will allow you to peer into parts of the gardens themselves. airBaltic has daily flights to London from Riga and from Vilnius. | 
