If your husband doesnt like the gardens much, and if you must visit one garden, I would definitely recommend the Couple's retreat garden. Basically we stumbled upon this "gem" when we went on hunt for a zoo for my kid. Once... More
If your husband doesnt like the gardens much, and if you must visit one garden, I would definitely recommend the Couple's retreat garden. Basically we stumbled upon this "gem" when we went on hunt for a zoo for my kid. Once you enter the couple's retreat garden complex, dont take right, this is where the normal tour bus takes. You can take left and you will see beautiful lake. Walk further and you will see some fishing area, boating area, the entire area seems so beautiful and Europeanish, reminded of one the lakes I visited in Germany. With almost nobody around, we had the garden to ourselves, pretty much. We just loved this place, luckily this hasn't been so touristy or might be we were lucky that day. If you walk on the other side you will reach the Ou Yuan garden, along a beautiful lake and then it goes to the touristic Couples retreat garden. And hey, this was FREE. I highly recommend this if you want to avoid too much people.
However, if you are ok having lots of people around you, you can visit the humble administrator garden, its quite beautiful, but too expensive and crowded.
Have a good trip to Suzhou!