Cleveland Cultural Gardens

The gardens are along a stretch of street. Each section of the street contains historical themes , statues , plaques and plants specific to a certain country. Although the street does not have parking, there are sidewalks for walking or biking .

The gardens are one of my favorite places in Cleveland. It pains me to give them four instead of five stars. That is because they are so under utilized and unknown. There are greater Cleveland residents who don’t even know about them. In any other major American city, something this engaging and diverse would be world-famous. Cleveland has such a variety of ethnicities, and so many rightfully proud of those heritages these gardens are like “It’s a small world” but not annoying. As a Clevelander I wish we could do more with this cool concept, but even as it stands it’s something to visit at every opportunity.

This place is an amazing scenery throughout the seasons. I personally love Fall. It’s a nice area for a quick drive or walk. In the spring, the flowers are bloomed and the landscape is well maintained. It would be an ideal place for a family photo shoot.

It's one of my favorite parks in the city. I walked around for almost two hours with my son and we still didn't see everything. Some of the gardens have plaques and/or statues and sculptures, and you can really learn a lot there.

Some of the Cultural locations still in the building face, also traffic around the park is a bit heavy when there is events. And parking it's a nightmare. Overall they are doing a great job. I have attended the Italian outdoor Opera, the Colombian Independence day celebration and the Russian Celebration at each of their respected locations within the Gardens. I highly recommend attending some of this events, culturally you will love it! Restrooms are a bit hard to find 😕

Food is amazing.... Each dish is a perfect blend of various flavours and the best part is services are too quick and staff is friendly and polite... They themself suggest special recipies which everyone must try... Worth visit ... It's a perfect family restaurant

I was part of a wedding service at the Hungarian Garden early in September and I think it was a wonderful scene. Later we moved to the Italian Garden and took some photos. Beautiful locations with a nice selection of flowers.

Was here for the all day party that is One World Day. A beautiful slice of greenery on a usually incrediblely busy thoroughfare that was shut down for the festivities. This is always a surprisingly serene place with trees, fountains & peeks at various cultures represented by the individual gardens. I love love love coming here just to wander.

This is an interesting idea: this greenway with a road running through it is subdivided into little plots with various cultural artifacts. In practice, it is a bit rough with the traffic constantly and noisily whizzing by. Some plots were under construction when I stopped by, but more importantly, I was quite perplexed with the choice of cultures, which was heavily tilted towards Eastern Europe (are there a lot of Latvian and Azerbaijani immigrants to Cleveland?), but with other seemingly random countries occasionally making an appearance, such as Ethiopia and India. They have a Hebrew cultural garden with plaques of famous American Jews. Their Ukrainian section was dotted with extra accoutrements including blue and yellow stones by local schoolchildren, which didn't really strike me as being appropriate or helpful. The Ethiopian section was a surprising standout with its artistic display, while other sections focused on sculpture art or plaques. The amount of actual plant life native to the nominated region was in many cases minimal, but each plot was its own different endeavor. Walking the whole length of the path from the museum center to the waterfront was considerably longer than it appeared on the map, so I did only part of that.

These gardens are really a unique place on the east side of Cleveland. I feel as if not many people have gotten out of their cars to visit because parking around here is difficult. I have driven past here so many times on my way to Case Western Reserve University law school, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and also the Natural History Museum. I got to finally explore these gardens (somewhat) when I met with a running group here on the Independence Day holiday (4 July 2019). I really have to come back to walk through the gardens because running past them didn't give me time to explore. GARDENS -- There are over 25 cultural gardens each for a particular country; for example, India or Ireland. The best way to see the gardens is by walking. You really have to get out of your car to explore the gardens further especially since some of them go deep inside along the trees. PARKING -- The gardens are situated on a very long Martin Luther King Drive street; hence, that's why there is no where to park. I suggest parking at the boat dock along Lake Erie and then walking through the gardens. I love the little lake here. There are benches surrounding the lake so can sit and take in the sights. **** - 161 total reviews in 2019 - 370 total overall Yelp reviews - Reviewed on 15 December 2019

A big part of Rockefeller Park is this area of interesting gardens. Cleveland Cultural Gardens is a large area of many gardens, each representing a country or ethnicity found in the people who call the city home. It has so many that it's hard to see them all in the same visit For a quick visit there's a road you can drive on going right by most. There's also walking paths but some gardens are far away and hard to get to. American garden is the first. It is at the southern most point of the park. This makes sense that it's the first one since this is the country it's in, and the other countries come to join it, so maybe that's what the creators of it thought. After this is the Hebrew garden. It doesn't specifically say this is for Israel. This is for all Jewish. After this comes the Hungarian garden. This has an impressive fountain and pool. German garden is the next one. There's two large statues. An impressive one is the Italian garden. The garden looks especially nice with a fancy entry point. African American garden is hard to get to from here. This is located on the other side of the creek, and you have to cross the St. Clair Avenue bridge to get to it. Here there isn't much going on so it's too bad. It looks like there's future plans. There's a sign that shows there's a big expansion that hasn't come yet. Russian is another garden. There's a lot of other former Soviet republics that are represented in the gardens too. Czech is another garden. The statues in this one are pretty impressive. Romanian garden is one the other side of the creek. There isn't a whole lot to this except for some flowers. Polish is the final garden before St. Clair Avenue. There's a few cool looking sculptures around it. Across the street is the Turkish garden. This looks very lonely by itself and probably gets overlooked a lot. It takes forever to see all the gardens. It's just such a big area so give yourself enough time for walking around it. They keep adding more gardens and expanding the ones already there.

The Cleveland Cultural Gardens are gorgeous! This is a must see if you are a Clevelander or visiting from out of town. They offer tours, but visit their website in advance - believe they are starting at the end of June 2021 post COVID. This is one of my favorite places to ride my bike to from downtown, as it connects to the bike path through the lakefront airport and goes past East 55th marina. You can also go all the way to Case / Cleveland Heights following this route. There are also many wedding / engagement / prom / baby photos always being taken here - I was in a wedding that took beautiful pictures in the Italian garden. In the early 1900s, Cleveland was made up of many immigrants, which may be our grandparents / great grandparents generations as these gardens began in 1916, as a dedication to all the immigrants that shaped Cleveland at that time. It is amazing to see all the statues / gardens with the signs detailing each one and the history of how Cleveland was shaped with different cultures. Gardens are still being added and added to with the African American garden in progress and the unique Chinese garden! You will probably need to visit multiple times to see everything. The Rockefeller gardens are also right next to the cultural gardens.

-longer walk than anticipated -nice walk through different cultures, although I did think that the plants would be native to their country but they aren't

This is such a unique place, I absolutely loved it! Too bad it's not one of those 'touristy' places that come up upon a first google search. I did quite a few searches to see what there is to do around Cleveland, and I happened to stumble upon this quite late. I'm so glad I did though; it's truly unique. Along Martin Luther King Blvd, there are gardens from different cultures along the road. It was raining the day we went, so we didn't get to go down and walk around, but I could've spent an hour or two walking through all the unique gardens here. I wish I had more time here, but we got pretty unlucky with the weather. Anyway, awesome place, highly recommend! [Side note: this is my 1500th Yelp review!]

These are beautiful Cleveland parks, and a must see if you are in Cleveland! As a photographer, the Cleveland Cultural Gardens, especially the Italian Cultural Garden, are one of my favorite spots for portraits. Manicured gardens mesh with historical architecture, and each cultural area is interesting and unique. Highly recommend! Images by Jennifer Elizabeth Photography.

I was only able to spend a few minutes at the cultural gardens. In that short time, I was impressed. I spent the most time in the Hebrew cultural garden (it's is huge compared to some of the others). I cannot wait to go back and explore when I have more time.

These Gardens are a true treasure. The Cleveland Cultural Gardens run along Martin Luther King and East boulevards in Rockefeller Park. With more than 30 gardens celebrating cultures around the world, it's a beautiful and educational spot to pack a picnic and discover different cultures. Once a year the Gardens host One World Day. This year it is on September 16, 2018. All the gardens come alive with a super cool Parade of Nations, performances, ethnic costumes, food and drink from around the world. Everyone is so friendly and interesting. But, even outside of One World Day, I still think the Cultural Gardens are a simple yet endearing part of Cleveland. So many great ones - I particularly love the Polish and Chinese gardens. Sometimes, when I need to get out to the burbs, I find myself taking the long way on the back end of University Circle so I can basically pass 80% of these Gardens. Some of them were dedicated as far back as the 1920s, which I think is pretty sweet. These spots just make me happy! Come experience a part of Cleveland's diverse history.

The gardens are quite nice and beautiful, BUT THEY NEED A BETTER PARKING SITUATION. Seriously. SERIOUSLY. I suggest Ubering or Lyfting here. Also, if you want to see all of the gardens, get ready to walk because they're quite spread out.

Since moving to Cleveland, I thought this is one of the coolest parts of Cleveland. To piggy back on this is the One World Day that is every year in the gardens help to bring out the spirit. So, these gardens line East Blvd and MLK of Cleveland. It started in 1916 and there is continued effort to add more cultures. Each "culture" has a designated space that is decorated with donations and fundrasing. Some gardens highlight leaders such as Ghandi (India) or Goethe (Germany) and others have stunning concepts. They are fun to walk and see the different concepts and enjoy green space. One World Day comes around in August. It is when MLK is shut down to allow for a large festival where you will see traditional dress, language, and food. They also do a naturalization service which I think is amazing as well!

This isn't the sort of attraction one would expect to find in Cleveland, Ohio. And, it's even more interesting when one considers that this was never one of the country's largest metropolitan areas, yet emerged as one of the most diverse. Diversity means different things to different people. In this case, I'm talking about the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural fabric that created a tapestry in this city and metropolitan area by virtue of cuisines, customs, costumes, festivals, traditions, histories, and values. To celebrate this diversity, parkway-like MLK Jr. Blvd., south of the lake and north of University Circle, was designated as a swath where numerous ethnicities and cultures would create and maintain a garden that showcased their culture. This swath is known as the Cleveland Cultural Gardens. In most cases, the gardens have been dedicated and the signage shows when they were dedicated. In a few cases, the gardens are in the planning stages and have yet to be dedicated. Most of the countries represented are in Europe, Africa, and Asia, and are countries from which the Cleveland area has received immigrants. This parkway gently winds around and is sort of recessed into a swale that MLK Jr. Blvd. traverses. On its sides, the terrain of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens climbs up the knoll to the parallel streets above. Most gardens flank MLK Jr., while others stretch from MLK Jr. to the parallel street above it via steps and terraces. Some gardens which climb the hillside are those of Italy, Greece, and Germany, if not several others. Some gardens are simple while others are more ornate ... or, they can be simple and have some ornate centerpiece(s) of sorts. And, along with this, there will undoubtedly be plants, flowers, and the country's flag. While a parkway at this point, MLK Jr. Blvd. is still a busy street and parking is limited. There are some areas where there is free 2 hour parking and it suffices. Most of these designated areas are found in the southbound direction. Another option is to park on the streets parallel to and above MLK Jr. Note that, because the spread of the countries' gardens along MLK Jr. is lengthy, one might have to move their car. The Cleveland Cultural Gardens is one of the places that will either interest you or it won't. If you are a back slapping pizza and beer type of guy or gal, it might not. If you might be interested in learning about different cultures and how they've chosen to represent themselves, then you will most likely enjoy this venue. And, no, I don't view the gardens as a display of ethnocentrism. I much prefer to view the Cleveland Cultural Gardens as both a celebration and a beautiful place.

What an oasis in the middle of Cleveland. Great for an evening walk and sightseeing. The small lake in the park has water features that are soothing and dampen the sound of the cars driving by. Another treasure on the east side of Cleveland.

Within Cleveland's Rockefeller Park are the "Cultural Gardens," representing about 30 various countries/ethnicities. The gardens are spread out across an upper & lower level of the park along both East Blvd& MLK Jr Blvd. They are really fascinating in their diversity & unique representation of each country. Some are quite elaborate & others more simple. Although the both boulevards are busy, you can drive along and clearly read the signs from the road to know which garden is which. I would give it a 5 stars except for the limited access unless you are going to park & walk the gardens - which is quite sprawling. They are very much worth a visit.

The Cleveland Cultural Gardens are one of the the most unique features of CLE. I'm not aware of anything else like it in the country. There are about 30 various nationalities represented in the gardens. Each garden has been created using the trational decorations and designs of its respective nationality. During the summer months it is not uncommon to find events like free concerts, ice cream socials, and even weddings taking place. Particulary at the Italian Gardens, and their beutifully recreated piazza. This is a wonderful place to stroll through and soak up some of the diversity that CLE has to offer.

Great spot in Cleveland to visit. It is not in the best location along East blvd and mlk. However, come during the day there is plenty of cars and pedestrians. The gardens range from the oldest and grandest on East blvd to the modern and more diverse cultural offerings on mlk dr. This is an attraction that is wholly unique to Cleveland and the quality is not to be missed. You should allot around 2 hours to see everything.

a really beautiful and unique place. It's too bad that there is a main road down the center with lots of traffic, but since it's not in the safest part of town, I guess that's good. I wish there was more room to park on MLK. The gardens themselves are quite magical (some more than others). I especially like the ones with all the steps and terraces.

I was hoping to go walking around here after work because I've driven through it before, so I fought the traffic get up to Sam Miller Park and it was closed. I drove down to the other place mentioned in the website, the greenhouse, and its parking was closed. Apparently they close every possible parking lot at 4, presumably just to spite whoever might think it would be nice to go for a walk in a hopefully nice place after work. I cannot fathom any other reason, and I'm trying. So if you go this park at a decent hour that common sense screams anyone who works would be able to get to it at, you'll instead have to drive the much scarier looking neighborhood instead.