A tropical paradise with expansive sea views, the Hanbury Botanical Gardens, now operated by the University of Genova, is the British garden of Liguria. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, these 45 acres of cultivated land are brim-full of native and exotic botanical species. Englishman and aspiring botanist Thomas Hanbury, who purchased the property in 1867, chose the land for its fertile soil and mild climate; a welcome change from the unfriendly habitat of his home country.

Here he could cultivate species from around the world that wouldn’t have lasted a minute in England, and though gardening was a common pastime of the English aristocrats, Hanbury’s interest in biodiversity was next level. Pre-Hanbury, the land around the 11th-century villa was, for the most part, cultivated with the ubiquitous olive trees, grape vines, and citrus.