Bernardine Garden — Vilnius

A walk through Bernardine Garden

Bernardine Garden (Bernardinų sodas) is the Old Town's favourite green escape: 7.8 hectares of restored parkland wrapped around the Vilnelė river, just below St Anne's Church and the Bernardine complex. Reconstructed in 2013 to its 19th-century layout, it is laid out as a series of distinct zones — formal botanical expositions with roses and lavender, rockeries and decorative plantings, shaded riverside paths and open lawns where locals sprawl on a warm afternoon.

It is also genuinely family-friendly. There are several playgrounds, a carousel and outdoor chess tables, and the garden's centrepiece is a musical fountain that draws a crowd in the evenings when it is lit. Look out for the protected old oak, reputed to be the oldest tree in Vilnius at roughly 400 years. Easy to reach on foot from Cathedral Square and open year-round, it is the natural place to slow down between Old Town sights.

• Address: Barboros Radvilaitės g. 8A, Vilnius Old Town (entrances also off Maironio g.)
• Free to enter; open year-round, though the fountain runs seasonally
• Family-friendly: playgrounds, carousel and chess tables
• An easy stroll from Cathedral Square, St Anne's Church and Užupis

Where it is

Vilnius Cathedral & Cathedral Square — Lithuania's main Catholic cathedral with its freestanding belfry anchors the broad Cathedral Square at the foot of Castle Hill.