The university's first botanical garden, founded in 1736 — one year before the university itself — and laid out by Albrecht von Haller, a pioneer of systematic plant taxonomy. The 4.5-hectare site holds tropical, alpine and Mediterranean glasshouses, a formal arrangement of medicinal beds, and a central pond. It is free, open all year, and a popular shortcut between the Altstadt and the northern campus.
The newer 36-hectare botanical garden is north of the city in Lindau — more comprehensive but less central and less atmospheric.