 The garden of the Presidential Mansion occupies an area of about 25,000 square metres (just more than 6 acres) and constitutes a green haven in the centre of Athens.During the middle of the nineteenth century, this area, because of its especially fertile soil, was in fact the vegetable garden of the Royal Palace (now Parliament building).After the construction of the mansion in 1897 and the construction of Herodou Attikou Street, the area which surrounded the Crown Prince's Palace was fashioned into a large ornamental garden.