Selby Botanical Gardens named one of 'World's Greatest Places'

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota has been named one of Time magazine’s 100 “World’s Greatest Places” for 2024, the publication has announced. 

Time, in describing Selby as a “thriving oasis of banyan trees and mangroves,” notes its new solar array, “now set to become the world’s first net-positive-energy botanical complex thanks to the installation of a 57,000-square-foot solar array. (It exceeds the facility’s energy demands by more than 10%).”

Selby Gardens is one of only eight places in the U.S. that made the list. It's the only Florida location in its category and the only botanical garden on the list.

Time says it solicited nominations of places, including hotels, cruises, restaurants, attractions, museums and parks from its network of correspondents and contributors, as well as via an application process, “with an eye toward those offering new and exciting experiences.”

Other places on the “places to visit” list include Maui Cultural Lands in Hawaii, the Kamba African Rainforest in Kenya, the Matterhorn Alpine Crossing in Switzerland and the Museum of Solutions in Mumbai, India.

In a news release, Selby Gardens’ president and CEO, Jennifer O. Rominiecki, thanked supporters. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who believed in our transformational Master Plan,” she said. “The completion of Phase One has allowed our organization to be recognized as a global leader for sustainability, as well as an international innovator for botanical gardens, museums, cultural organizations, scientific institutions, and restaurants worldwide.”