The Genovés Park in Cádiz, an iconic romantic-style Botanical Garden from the 19th century, is not just any ordinary park. It has been declared as an Asset of Cultural Interest by the Junta de Andalucía and is included in the General Catalog of the Historical Heritage of Andalusia.
The park boasts a roughly trapezoidal shape, with its borders marked by the Parador Nacional Atlántico on Jesús Caído street, the seafront through Paseo de Santa Bárbara, Avenida Duque de Nájera, and Paseo de Carlos III through Plaza Rocío Jurado.
The Parador Nacional Atlántico next to the Genovés Park in Cádiz
The gardens
As visitors make their way through the main entrance in Plaza Rocío Jurado, they are greeted by a stunning view of a wide central avenue, adorned with symmetrical flower beds, and the famous oyster stone fountains, flanked by common cypresses and California cypresses, pruned into rounded shapes typical of English-style topiary. The Central Walk of the Park is further enhanced by slender date palms that lend it a breathtakingly beautiful image.
The Parque Genovés is also known for its asymmetrical layout, with over 150 different species of trees, palms, and shrubs that have adapted to the exceptional “microclimate” of the city of Cádiz, making it a botanical garden of unique significance.
Among the ornamental and monumental trees that dominate the landscape of the park are the hundred-year-old Drago tree (Dracaena draco) that is characteristic of the city, the Metrosidero (Metrosideros tomentosa) from New Zealand that is one of the most important specimens in Europe, and two varieties of Araucaria (A. excelsa and A. bidwillii) that can reach up to 50 meters in height. Other noteworthy specimens include the Palo Borracho (Chorisia speciosa), American cypresses, and various species of palm trees, making the Parque Genovés the most prominent of the historical gardens of Cádiz.
The park’s pond with its waterfall and grotto is a breathtaking sight to behold, and it is one of the many architectural and sculptural elements that make the park truly unique. Among the various sculptures present in the park are the famous ‘Children under the umbrella,’ commonly known in Cádiz as “the fountain of the children of the paragüitas,” as well as sculptures dedicated to José Celestino Mutis, the Duchess of Victoria, José María Pemán, Félix Rodríguez, and the Battle of Trafalgar.
See more parks and gardens in Cádiz here: https://visitingcadiz.com/parks-and-gardens/
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