Cristina Enea Park

A childless duke and duchess spent decades importing exotic plants from every continent on Earth as a deliberate display of wealth. Species that you would normally have to travel thousands of kilometres to see were collected and planted here, on the outskirts of San Sebastian, in what amounted to the most expensive garden flex in Basque history. When they died with no heirs, they gave the entire ninety-five thousand square metre estate to the city with one condition: it had to remain a public park forever.

The duke was Fermin de Lasala y Collado, whose own father had been mayor of San Sebastian during the city's reconstruction after the eighteen thirteen fire. He married Cristina Brunetti y Gayoso de los Cobos, the Thirteenth Duchess of Mandas, and together they created this botanical wonderland. The park is named Cristina Enea -- Cristina's place in Basque -- after the duchess.

The landscape design was by Pierre Ducasse, the same architect who designed the gardens at Miramar Palace and the Plaza de Gipuzkoa. Ducasse created winding paths through mature trees, ornamental ponds, open lawns, and hidden corners where the exotic specimens could thrive in the mild Basque climate.

Today the park is one of the most peaceful spots in the city and one of the least touristy. Locals come here to walk their dogs, jog, read on benches, and escape the crowds of the Old Town. There are peacocks wandering the grounds, a small palace that serves as an environmental education centre, and enough space to get genuinely lost in the greenery.

The duke and duchess could have sold the estate. They could have left it to distant relatives. Instead they gave it to everyone, permanently. Walk through Cristina Enea and you are enjoying a gift from two people who decided that the best thing they could do with their wealth was make sure nobody could ever take this park away from the city.