A visit to any city is always incomplete without a visit to its major parks and gardens. For Sydney, the 29 hectares of the Royal Botanic Gardens of 29-hectare are the perfect counterpoint to the high-rise buildings and bustle of the city center. They benefit enormously from their proximity to the harbour, looking onto the long curving promenade of Farm Cove, which is set between twin promontories, one crowned by the Opera House and the other by [Mrs. Macquaries�s Point]. Once the site of the first government farm (old MacDonald ?) contains the National Herbarium (with more than a million plant specimens), a fernery under a slated steel dome, and the extraordinary shapes of the Pyramid and Arc greenhouses, which shelter tropical plants that come from many countries. Definitely a place for the nature lover stuck and too busy in a big city.