Empress Garden

Undoubtedly the oldest garden of Pune, Empress garden provides the much required green cover in city. It ia very old garden created from a marsh waste land, it is now one of the most visited parks of the city. Spread across 36 acreas of land, this garden is one of the oldest Botanical gardens of the city and is the home of very old,rare and beautiful species of trees.

This garden currently maintained by Agri-Horticultural Society of Western India since 1892 was previously known as the “Soldiers Garden”. This was initially the property of a Sardar Vithalrao Purandhare. In the year 1838, the ownership of the garden passed into the hands of the Government. 

In 1845, it further changed hands and came into the possession of Sir Charles Napier. Throughout his ownership, the garden was known as the 'Garden of Dr. Don'. The name 'Empress Garden' was given to the botanical park in honor of Queen Victoria, when she won the title of 'Empress of India'.

This garden is an important landmark of Pune city, and is located in Ghorpadi, opposite to the Pune Race course. 

The over grown trees and the beautiful green cover makes it an ideal place for a morning or evening stroll. This place also hosts an annual flower show in January which is a good treat for the eyes to see variety of flowers and plants.