The Małopolska Garden Route is divided into three main regions: Tarnów, Nowy Sącz and Kraków. The gardens on the Route are of various types: utilitarian, educational, decorative, therapeutic, private and public. An additional attraction is the colourful stamps that you can collect  each of the gardens on the  Małopolska Garden Route.

In the Kraków Region, a hit often featured in photos on social media is the Garden Full of Lavender in Ostrów, where lavender grows in distinctive triangular plots. Besides the main attraction, many other plants grow in the garden, making the garden a marvel to behold all year round. Another unusual place can be found at Wawel Castle, where the Royal Gardens have been recreated using historical iconography. Here we will also see vineyards that remind us of the tradition of growing grapes on Wawel Hill. We stay in Kraków, where the map of the Małopolska Garden Route also includes the Jagiellonian University Botanical Garden – the oldest existing botanical garden in Poland. This place is vibrant with cultural life, as concerts, films are shown and theatre performances are held, and exhibitions are presented here as well. In the royal city, it is also worth visiting, among other places, the Family Allotment Garden by the Rudawa River. Outside Kraków, the John Paul II Garden in Inwałd enjoys great popularity. After climbing the viewing tower, one can see a three-hectare painting depicting the figure of the Polish Pope, St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican and the Basilica of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Wadowice, 'painted' with thousands of trees, bushes and flowers. The length of the alleys, filled with extraordinary stories from the life of St. John Paul II, is eight kilometres long!

We move to the Tarnów Region, where the route includes the Goetz Okocim Palace Garden with its 14-hectare English-style park. It is also worth visiting the restored palace built by the founder of Okocim Brewery. Not only the palace but also the historic manor house can be seen in Paderewski Park in the Paderewski Centre in Kąśna Dolna, near Ciężkowice. Strollers will see rare specimens of trees, such as 300-year-old oaks as well as herons and goosanders, also known as mergansers, staying at the local pond. In search of health benefits, we recommend a trip to the Horticulture Therapy Garden in Jadowniki Mokre. It features therapy-supporting elements such as a sensory path and a dry stream with various textures, as well as a cascade pond (a man-made river more than 20 metres long) enabling direct, easy contact with the element of water. The garden also features a metre-high elevated vantage point, free of architectural barriers, which is perfect for contemplating the surrounding nature and exploring the rocky environment. The raised beds provide wheelchair users with an active engagement with the plant world as experienced through all five of their senses.

What awaits us in the Nowy Sącz Region? Only in Muszyna do we have the opportunity to visit the Magic Garden, the Bible Garden, the Sensory Gardens, and the Park of Culture and Old Crafts at the Manor House of the Muszyna Elders. The complex also includes the Potter's House, where you can learn how to make clay pots. Around 3,000 plants are in the Garden of Dreams in Myślec near Stary Sącz. The garden also impresses with its small-scale architecture and uses ecological solutions, such as a biological household sewage treatment plant, photovoltaic cells and rainwater storage tanks. The Małopolska Garden Route also includes a facility from outside these regions – the Mountain Botanical Garden in Zakopane. The arrangement of the plants in the garden is intended to reflect the natural, storied arrangement of vegetation in the Tatra Mountains. Rare, endangered and threatened species are also located here.

A downloadable map of the Małopolska Garden Route can be found at: www.malopolskiszlakogrodow.pl

The Małopolska Garden Route:

1. Manor and park complex in Breń
2. ‘Na Wzgórzu’ Garden in Filipowice
3. John Paul II Garden in Inwałd
4. Horticulture Therapy Garden in Jadowniki Mokre
5. Paderewski Park in Kąśna Dolna
6. Botanical Garden of the Jagiellonian University
7. Garden and Lapidarium at the Emeryk Hutten-Czapski Museum
8. Garden of the Archaeological Museum in Kraków
9. Green Grounds of the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków
10.  Royal Gardens at Wawel Castle
11. Ornamental Garden in Łostówka
12.  Manor house in Michalowice – Garden and Park
13.  Sensory Gardens in Muszyna
14.  Bible Garden in Muszyna
15.  Magic Garden in Muszyna
16.  Culture and Old Craft Park in Muszyna
17.  Garden of Dreams Myślec-Zagórze
18.  Garden Full of Lavender in Ostrów
19.  Castle and Garden Complex in Pieskowa Skała
20.  Biblical Garden in Proszowice
21.  Educational Garden at the Local Product Centre in Rzuchowa
22.  Feasting Garden at Cristal Park Hotel in Tarnów
23.  Family Garden Mazurówka in Uście Gorlickie
24.  Parish Garden in Wawrzeńczyce
25.  Marian Raciborski Botanical Garden in Zakopane
26.  Presidential Mansion in Zgłobice - Manor and Park Complex
27. Garden of the Goetz Okocimski Palace in Brzesko
28.  Gardens of Queen Bona, Royal Castle in Niepołomice
29.  Sensory Garden in Strzelecki Park in Tarnów
30.  Three Sisters Garden in Zalasowa
31.  Family Allotment Garden ‘Nad Rudawą’ in Tarnów
32.  Garden at the Portobello Ristorante Restaurant
33.  Sensory Garden at the Spa Park in Ciężkowice
34.  Pszczela Przystań
35.  Educational Homestead ‘Pszczółki’
36.  Garden in the Palace and Park Complex
37.  ‘Winnica ogród’ in Winnica Dąbrówka
38.  Educational and Sensory Garden in a Galician town
39.  Arboretum of Krzysztof Penderecki in Lusławice
40.  St. Valentine's Garden in Lubcza
41.  Błonia Niepołomickie
42.  Pasieka na Brzegu