Melbourne has
one of the finest collection of parks and gardens of any city in
the world and the good news is that the best gardens are within
easy walking distance of the city. The Royal Botanic Gardens, in
particular, are regarded as among the world's finest botanic gardens
and are situated within a few hundred metres of Flinders Street Station
at the southern perimeter of the CBD.
The city's English town planners
allowed for huge areas of land to be set aside for parklands and
gardens and these areas have been preserved and enhanced over the
past hundred years. Visitors flying into Melbourne are often surprised
at the vast tracts of greenery surrounding the Central Business
District. To a large degree, the heart of the city is enclosed by
parklands and gardens.
Even Melbourne's streets take on a green
note, as its main boulevards and many of its streets are lined with
trees, in particular London plane trees. It is a little known fact
that Melbourne has more than 18,000 street trees (as distinct from
20,000 park trees) with an estimated value of more than $350 million.
These trees are now managed by the City of Melbourne.
