The Jardín Botánico Atlántico: An Ocean Told Through Plants, on the Edge of Gijón

The Jardín Botánico Atlántico, in Cabueñes, next to the Universidad Laboral in Gijón, holds more than 30,000 plants in four zones, including the Jardín de la Isla, more than 150 years old. A ticket costs 2.90 euros, under-12s go free and bus lines 1, 2, 18 and 26 go there.

It opened in April 2003 next to the Universidad Laboral, in Cabueñes, and it is one of the places in Gijón with the most reviews on TripAdvisor. It is not a park with labels on the trees: it is a plant museum that tells the story of the Atlantic world through plants, from an Asturian beech wood to a North American boreal forest, with a garden more than 150 years old in the middle. What each zone holds, what it costs and how to get there without a car.

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A museum made of plants

The Jardín Botánico Atlántico opened on 25 April 2003, after three years of planning, on land in the parishes of Deva and Cabueñes, near the Universidad Laboral. Turismo Asturias describes it as a plant museum specialising in the flora and vegetation of the Atlantic world, and gives its figures: 25 hectares, 16 of them open to the public, more than 30,000 plants and about 2,500 different species.

The common thread is the Atlantic Ocean, and the collections are split into four zones: the Entorno Cantábrico, the Factoría Vegetal, the Jardín de la Isla and the Itinerario Atlántico. Turismo Asturias recommends calling ahead, because opening hours and prices change with the season.

The Entorno Cantábrico and the Factoría Vegetal

The first zone is the home one: the plant landscapes of the Cantabrian coast, with beech and oak woods, heathland, meadows and water plants. It helps you put names to what you will later see on any walk in Asturias.

The Factoría Vegetal is about the plants people use: fruit trees from the Old and New Worlds, vegetable gardens, herbs and spices. Next to it is the Quintana de Rionda, a traditional Asturian farmstead restored as a museum, with its house, stable, cider press, mill and granary.

The Jardín de la Isla

This is the oldest part and the most photographed: a historic garden more than 150 years old that belonged to the Gijón industrialist Florencio Valdés. According to Wikipedia it covers about 40,000 square metres and holds camellias, plane trees, a pond, a yew maze and a lagoon of 1,300 square metres. It is the corner of old trees, and the one that changes most from season to season.

The Itinerario Atlántico and the Tragamón oak wood

The Itinerario Atlántico recreates landscapes from both shores of the ocean, from dunes and marshes to boreal forests, European and American. Along the route there are two woods that were not planted for the garden: the alder grove of the Peñafrancia river and the Carbayera del Tragamón, a wood of centuries-old oaks declared a Natural Monument of the Principality.

There is plenty to see: asturias.com suggests about four hours to do it properly. Guided visits, general and themed, are included in the price of an individual ticket, and there are children's workshops on Saturdays.

Opening hours and price

According to asturias.com, from 16 September to 14 May it opens from 10:00 to 18:00, Tuesday to Sunday, with last entry at 17:15; from 15 May to 15 September, from 10:00 to 21:00, with last entry at 20:15. It is closed on Mondays, except in July and August.

A ticket costs 2.90 euros, according to the city's price ordinance. The reduced ticket, for over-65s and young people aged 12 to 26, is 1.80 euros, and under-12s go free. Groups of more than 10 people pay 2.20 euros each; the annual pass costs 25 euros and the family pass 40. The same ordinance lists a combined ticket with Laboral Ciudad de la Cultura for 7 euros, and guided night visits, booked in advance, at 12 euros.

Getting there

It is about three kilometres from the centre. City bus lines 1, 2, 18 and 26 go there, according to Wikipedia and asturias.com, which adds the Micro 2 line on weekdays. The address is the Avenida del Jardín Botánico, and the Universidad Laboral is a short walk away, so both visits fit into the same day.

Checked

Facts checked in October 2026 against: Turismo Asturias (Jardín Botánico Atlántico page), Wikipedia (Jardín Botánico Atlántico), Gijón City Council (Ordinance 3.65 on Botanic Garden public prices, December 2025), asturias.com (Jardín Botánico de Gijón) and Planomato (2026).