Botanical Gardens: Complete silence and peace in the middle of the city centre...

I love the sound of the city of Valencia. The music in the street, the church bells ringing, the chatter at the bars, but sometimes... You just want a moment of absolute silence. 
Today I found it. 

The park is surrounded by a high wall through which there's no way to have a peek. How intriguing.. I'd been staring at the wall a couple of times before. But as a true Dutch person, I never wanted to pay the 2,50 to get in, because 'come on, across the street, there's a huge park for free!'

But today I got dragged in there by my friend who wanted to pet the cats at the shelter they run over there. Ignoring the 'do not touch the cats' sign, we walked into an oasis of silence. The gardens, founded in 1567, are beautifully designed and contains a huge collection from the plants I have on my balcony, to very rare and freaky looking things: cacti the size of apartments, little flesh eating plants, that actually close their teeth when you touch them... 

When you're done exploring it's the perfect place to grab a bench and read for hours. They also run exhibitions, concerts and courses. Check out their website here.