The Berggarten, one of the four Herrenhausen royal gardens, was founded in 1666 as a vegetable plot and is today a serious botanical garden. The orchid hothouses are among the largest in Europe — more than 3,500 species, the entire collection housed in stepped glass pavilions. The Tropical Rainforest house re-creates a slice of Borneo undergrowth.
The Welf mausoleum at the back of the garden holds, among others, the remains of George I of Great Britain — moved from London in 1957. Quieter than the Grosser Garten across the road, and good year-round in any weather.