visit kew gardens london

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

• Kew Gardens • 7 min walk

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Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

• The London Pass®: Unlimited access to 90+ top attractions (From $132.20)
• Go City: London Explorer Pass - Choose 2 to 7 Attractions (From $87.71)
• Amazing Kew Gardens & London Landmarks Tour (From $87.33)
• Full Day London Pick & Mix Customized Tour (From $953.39)
• Visit Kew Gardens & 3 Hour Westminster Walking Tour (From $120.76)
• (0.22 mi) Kew Gardens BandB
• (0.38 mi) The Coach and Horses
• (0.21 mi) Maids Guest Rooms
• (0.32 mi) Kew Gardens Hotel
• (0.56 mi) Premier Inn London Kew Bridge hotel
• (0.10 mi) The Botanical
• (0.21 mi) The Original Maids of Honour
• (0.30 mi) Ma Cuisine
• (0.40 mi) Q Verde
• (0.42 mi) Rara
• (0.00 mi) Queen Charlotte's Cottage
• (0.02 mi) Palm House
• (0.12 mi) Theatre On Kew
• (0.33 mi) Marianne North Gallery
• (0.34 mi) Kew Palace

Kew Gardens Visitor Information

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The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew was awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status in July 2003 due to its work on history and development of garden landscapes and its role in science and plant research.

Quick Facts

Size of the gardens.

The Gardens are 300 acres. To get an idea of walking times between landmarks see the Kew Gardens map (pdf). If you are visiting with small children be prepared to double walking times.

How Much Time?

It is suggested that most people take around three hours to explore the whole of the length of the Gardens. (It is about one mile across and takes about 40 minutes to walk across.) We usually stay the whole day and still never see everything. If you have time, spend the whole day at Kew. Don't rush it; stay longer, have lunch, and enjoy your visit.

Overhead Noise

Kew Gardens is on the Heathrow Airport flight path. Noisy planes go overhead every few minutes. Initially this is distracting but, honestly, you soon get used to it and stop noticing them.

Photographer's Paradise

Kew is a photographer's paradise. You will see lots of people with cameras ranging from the cheap disposables to amazing long lenses on professional equipment. Most people walk ​around holding their camera and a map so if your camera has a neck strap do use it. As with any photo opportunity make sure you have all you need for a day away from the shops: extra batteries, film (if not digital), and an empty memory card or lots of space (for digital).

Exhibitions

Kew has a history of outdoor sculpture exhibitions and some of the best have been David Nash at Kew and Moore at Kew.

Getting to Kew

Use Journey Planner to plan your route by public transport.

By London Underground

Nearest Tube Station : Kew Gardens. Take the District Line towards Richmond.

Approx. Travel Times: 15 minutes from Earl's Court and 30 minutes from Westminster on the District Line to Kew Gardens Station (Zone 3).

Top Tip: If steps are a problem for you, for example, if you are traveling with a child in a buggy, go to Richmond station (it's only one more stop) and come back on the Eastbound train to Kew Gardens. This way you can avoid the steps and bridge over the train tracks.It's a ten-minute walk from Kew Gardens Station to Kew Gardens Victoria Gate.

Train services (South West Trains) from Waterloo, via Vauxhall and Clapham Junction, stop at Kew Bridge station.

Planning Your Trip to Kew Gardens

Kew is open 363 days of the year (closed for Christmas ) so you can visit all year round. The plants vary throughout the seasons but that is what makes more than one visit so interesting. Before you visit you can get lots of useful information from the Kew Gardens website, such as the Parent's Survival Guide.

Wear a jacket that is easy to remove when inside the glasshouses as these buildings are hot and humid.   Wear flat shoes as narrow heels will go through the holes in the grated floor in the Palm House.

You will be given a free Visitor's Guide when you arrive. This includes a map and information on facilities. The Visitor's Guide is updated regularly due to the seasonal changes at Kew Gardens and is usually only valid for three months as the botanical world changes so fast.

Toilets Upon Arrival at Victoria Gate

Toilets are the other side of Victoria Plaza (go through and come out the other side). There are more toilets and another baby changing station around the corner along the side of the lake (less than a minute away).

Kew Explorer Bus Tours

If you really are short of time you can see Kew in under an hour on the Kew Explorer. There is an additional charge for this hop on-hop off tour of Kew with 8 stops. Tours are daily and run every hour from Victoria Plaza. I haven't tried this tour but it looks like fun. It includes a running commentary of the sights.

Walking Tours

There are daily walking tours, usually two a day, lasting 60 minutes. You need to register at the Guide Desk just inside Victoria Plaza at least 15 minutes before the start of the tour. There are also often other seasonal tours available so check at the Guide Desk for information.

Kew Gardens Rules

• no climbing trees
• no ball games
• no bikes and scooters
• guide dogs only

Kew Gardens Opening Times

• Open Daily, Closed 24 and 25 December only.
• Closing times vary throughout the year
• Dates are approximate. Check Kew Gardens website for exact dates this year.

Fire Alarm Tip

All public indoor areas have regular fire alarm testing. Check doors to indoor areas for fire alarm testing notices.

More Tea for Your Money

A paper cup of tea in the Victoria Plaza is the same price as a pot of tea (2 cups) in the Pavilion Restaurant.

Ramp Access to Temperate House

Disabled access is available at the back of the Temperate House.

Best Picnic Spots

• Next to the River Thames , near the Badger Sett, marked as a View Point on the free map. There are bench seats available and plenty of space to laze on the grass.
• In front of Queen Charlotte's Cottage is a good quiet picnic spot, as it has even ground and some shaded areas, although the nearest toilets are about 10 minutes walk away, near the Waterlily Pond.
• Near the Waterlily Pond is another good spot with bench seating.​

Kew Gardens Ticket Information

• Visit this attraction for free with a London Pass
• Buy the London Pass now (Buy Direct).

There are different Winter and Summer ticket prices. Children (under 17) go free. For the latest prices see the Kew Gardens website. You can also buy Kew Gardens tickets through Viator. Concessions are available for 60+, students 17+ in full-time education, long-term disabled, unemployed.

Kew Gardens Shopping and Eating

• Victoria Plaza Shops:
• Garden Shop - plants and objects for your garden
• Book Shop - botanical and garden-related books
• Cook Shop - exclusive sweets, teas, coffees and condiments
• Gift Shop - wide range of unique mementos
• White Peaks Children's Shop - pocket money toys, fun games and small toys

All purchases from Kew Gardens shops help to support Kew's vital science-based conservation work throughout the world.

• Victoria Terrace Café:  This is right next to the Victoria Gate which is the entrance/exit you use when traveling by tube or train. It serves tea, sandwiches, cakes, and snacks and is open the longest of all the cafes. Top Tip: A paper cup of tea in the Victoria Plaza is the same price as a proper pot of tea (2 cups) in the Pavilion Restaurant.
• Pavilion Restaurant:  This would be my first choice for lunch or a snack as it has a wide choice of well-priced hot and cold meals, a lovely choice of cakes, and that pot of tea. It's located near the Temperate House and the Pagoda, so in the southern part of the Gardens, and has a large outdoor seating area. This venue is most popular with regular visitors. Note there are extra toilets nearby on the edge of the Gardens).
• White Peaks Café:  The menu here has improved dramatically and I've seen hot carved roast in a bap as well as children's lunch boxes.
• The Orangery Restaurant:  Enjoy seasonal dishes in this elegant Grade 1 listed building, built in 1761.

Visiting Kew Gardens With Children

The best news is children under 17 go FREE to Kew Gardens! The Gardens are 300 acres. To get an idea of walking times between landmarks see the Kew Gardens map. It's suggested a five-year-old will take 15 minutes to walk from the Victoria Gate to the Xstrata Treetop Walkway.

Buggy Access

Kew's landscape has many paths and most buildings have ramped access. The only areas that are not accessible with buggies are:

• Xstrata Treetop Walkway (there's a buggy park at the bottom)
• Galleries in both the Temperate House and the Palm House
• The Waterlily House
• The Aquatic Display in the Palm House (no problem in the Princess of Wales Conservatory)
• Queen Charlotte's Cottage

Check the Kid's page of the Kew Gardens website for events and activities. Here are some tips and fun ideas:

• Climbers and Creepers: Kew's interactive play area. Amazing fun for 3- to 9-year-olds. Explore the Gardens first as once the kids get here they won't want to leave!  Don't start your visit with Climbers and Creepers, though, or you'll never get to see the gardens!
• Treehouse Towers: Kew's outdoor play area, next to Climbers and Creepers.
• Aerial walkways in the Palm House and the Temperate House.
• King William's Temple (behind the Palm House). Great for echo practice!
• Evolution House: Beware of the wet floor from the noisy waterfall. This area is meant for kids so they can learn about plant evolution.
• Stag Beetle Loggery: Not much to see.
• Giant Badger Sett: You can walk through the underground tunnels.

Kew Gardens Highlights

• Xstrata Treetop Walkway: Xstrata Treetop Walkway is 18 meters high and offers the chance to explore the tree canopy and views across London.
• The Palm House: Palm House is the stunning glass house near to the Victoria Gate entrance. At one end you can see the world's oldest pot plant, a Cyrad, and at the other end look at the sealing wax plant which turns red at the top. The Palm House is very humid - look up for the high steam jets. The plants are divided into areas of the world. Beware of overhanging plants on the walkways. Use the ornate wrought iron spiral staircase up to the gallery and down to the aquatic display.
• Princess of Wales Conservatory:  Opened by Princess of Wales on 28 July 1987, the design now seems rather '80s and dated. There's an aquatic display on the lower level. Buggy access via sloped walkways with wide low steps – not wheelchair-friendly. ( Top Tip: the Aquatic Display in the Palm House is better.)
• Temperate House:  The world's largest surviving Victorian glass structure. It took 38 years to build. As you enter the Main Block there is a 'wow factor'. It has a stunning high ceiling and the plants are huge. It is not uncomfortably hot, like the Palm House. In the center, you can see the world's tallest indoor plant, a Chilean Wine Palm.
• Queen Charlotte's Cottage:  Queen Charlotte (1744-1818) used this as her summerhouse to picnic with her family. The surrounding 37 acres were known as the 'Queen's Cottage Grounds' and was a game reserve.
• Kew Palace:  Kew Palace is the smallest and most intimate of the royal palaces. There is an additional charge to visit.
• The Davies Alpine House:  Bizarre glass structure, reminiscent of the new Wembley Stadium .
• Pagoda Tree:  This is a bit surreal as it's grown sideways. From China, it is grown in Buddhist Temple grounds

Xstrata Treetop Walkway at Kew Gardens

The Xstrata Treetop Walkway at Kew Gardens opened in May 2008 and at 18 meters high, it offers visitors the chance to explore the tree canopy and see magnificent views across London including the London Eye , which was designed by the same architects (Marks Barfield Architects). No extra ticket is required once you have paid your entrance to Kew Gardens. (Remember, under 17s go free.)

There is no other treetop walkway that starts underground but it makes sense to learn about the roots of trees before winding your way up to the treetops. The roots are the most important part of a tree but they couldn't be exposed so you can see interesting animatronics and a wonderful bronze sculpture of tree roots. This area is open all the time and it is expected that wildlife will go in at night so all exhibits have been built to withstand the elements.

Unfortunately, the lift has never worked so you will have to climb the steps up to the 200-meter long treetop walkway. There is a classroom platform which would be a fabulous place for a lesson!

The structure is made from weathered steel and will be maintenance free for 100 years and is expected to last 500 years! The Xstrata Treetop Walkway can accommodate 3,000 visitors a day and is a major highlight when you visit.

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Everything you need to know about visiting Kew Gardens in London

Updated: October 2019

If you are looking for a getaway from the busy London or just want to spend a day out in nature with your family, then a visit to Kew Gardens is the perfect answer. I have created for you the perfect guide with all the attractions of the Royal Botanical Gardens and everything you need to know about where to buy your ticket from and how to get there, to make your visit easier.

Where is Kew Gardens

Kew Gardens is situated in the South West of London, in the beautiful neighbourhood of Richmond upon Thames. Being the largest UNESCO world heritage site in London and more than 250 years old, Kew Gardens is the home of the Millennial Seed Bank, the biggest wild plant seed bank in the world. The Kew Estate occupies an area of 121 hectares home to over 30,000 plants. You can find here large flower and vegetables gardens, woodlands, lakes and ponds, conservatories, natural reserves and wildlife.

When is the best time to visit Kew Gardens

Kew Gardens is open every day from 10am until 6pm (from the end of March until the end of October). For the rest of the closing times (due to the shorter days), you can check the schedule here . Kew Gardens is great to visit in any season, including in winter, when they have some amazing light shows. During the year there are several exhibitions and events that transform completely Kew Gardens. You can see a list with what’s on this season here .

How long to spend at Kew Gardens? I would say a day is not enough and you would want to return if you want to see the entire Kew Gardens and palace.

How to get to Kew Gardens

You can reach Kew Gardens very easy from central London by tube, the overground, bus or train. If you plan on traveling by tube, Kew Gardens is on the District line, in zone 3 (£3.30 one way with an Oyster or contactless card). The station is 500 meters from Victoria Gate.

If you choose to travel by train, South West Trains run services from Waterloo station via Clapham Junction and Vauxhall (£4.40 for a one-way ticket). The train station is 800 meters away from Elizabeth Gate.

Buses 65 (Ealing Broadway), 391 (Fulham), 267 (Fullwell) and 237 (White City) connect different parts of London to Kew Gardens as well.

In summer, there is a boat service that runs from Westminster Pier to Kew Pier (500 meters from Elizabeth Gate).

Parking at Kew Gardens: If you arrive by car, there is a parking at Kew Gardens, on Ferry Lane, near Brentford Gate – TW9 3AF. Parking at Kew Gardens costs £7/day for cars and it is free for mopeds and motorcycles. There are some limited free parking spaces on Kew Road after 10AM and keep in mind that restrictions do apply for most residential roads around the area.  If you arrive by bicycle, there are bike racks at all four gates.

Where to buy your ticket for Kew Gardens

The Kew Gardens entrance fee is £13.50 when you buy it online, from the official Kew Gardens account from Get Your Guide . Note that you can’t buy tickets on the Kew Garden’s website directly. The cheapest place to buy your Kew Gardens and Palace ticket is online, where you can save up to 27% off the gate price. Not only that it’s cheaper but you will also skip the line at the gate, which in summer and during the weekends can get quite long.  Click here to buy your ticket online. 

In order to skip the queue make sure to print your ticket. For mobile tickets you will need to pass by the till, and the queue can be long during summer weekends. I know that many people are searching on Google if there is a Kew Gardens free entry and the answer in no, in order to visit Kew Gardens you do need to purchase a ticket.

How to plan your visit at Kew Gardens

Even if you are looking just to spend a day out in nature, planning is essential when visiting Kew Gardens because of the big number of attractions and the large area it occupies. You will receive a map of the gardens together with your ticket, but to make things easier, you can also download it from here .

It is hard to say how long to spend at Kew Gardens because it is such a big place. Depending on the purpose of your visit, you will find some suggested routes on the map. However, I will tell you all about the attractions at Kew and how to organise your time so that you can make the most out of your visit. I have started my visit to Kew Gardens from Victoria Gate and headed to the attractions from the East, finishing in the West hours later. I did take my time and enjoyed the strolls through the different gardens and conservatories, chased butterflies (for photos) or gazed at the carnivore plants have their hourly “shower”.  I’ve even met some of the permanent residents: a courageous fox, a few curious ducks, a mamma squirrel with 2 baby squirrels behind her and a lonely peacock.

There are a few cafes and restaurants inside Kew Gardens but you are always welcomed to bring your own food if you prefer a picnic under the trees.

The Hive is probably Kew Garden’s most ambitious project, a masterpiece of scientific research resulting in an incredible visual and sound experience. Stepping inside The Hive is like experiencing the inside of a real beehive, with all the sounds and lights triggered by the actual honeybee activity inside the Kew. This makes every moment inside The Hive different.

The Hive was first built for the UK’s pavilion at the 2015 Milan Expo, by Wolfgang Buttress. It is 17 meters tall, it weighs 40 tonnes and it is built from 170,000 of aluminium parts with 1000 led lights.

Because it’s such a popular attraction, I would recommend making your way to The Hive as soon as you arrive at Kew Gardens (the earlier the better).  It is a truly fascinating experience.

The Treetop Walkway

The Treetop Walkway is a very exciting “climb” for the entire family, especially for children. The metal structure is 18 meters above the ground, 200 meters long and sways in the wind. The views from up there are pretty awesome, over the forest canopy. Some parts of the walkway pass through the branches of the chestnut and oak trees, on which you can observe different birds and insects.

The structure of the walkway was made in such a way that the rust made it look like it blends perfectly with the environment next to it. At the bottom you will find the Rhizotron, an underground laboratory where visitors can learn about how trees grow.

There are 118 steps up to the walkway.

The Palm House

Inside the Palm House you will discover a world of rare and even extinct plants (in the wild) that are growing here due to the efforts of the Kew scientists.

You will find here trees that are at the base of many products that we consume every day: the rubber tree, the Cocoa tree, the Pepper tree (I didn’t even know that pepper grew in a tree!), the sugar cane, the African oil palm or the coffee tree.

The building itself dates from 1844 and it’s an iconic Victorian building made from glass and iron, resembling the hull of a ship. This is because the architects have used techniques from the ship building industry when they designed the glass house.

Davies Alpine House

The Alpine House is quite the masterpiece of architecture if we take in consideration that it was built in such a way that 90% of the ultraviolet light of the sun passes through to the plants, in has an automatic system of blinds that go down when the temperature is too high outside and the air is cooled down though a system of pipes underneath the building.

There are over 200 alpine plants here, which is the wild are usually growing at altitudes of 2000+ meters.

The Temperate House

The Temperate House is currently closed for restauration and it will be opened sometimes next year, after 5 years of works. Inside the Temperate House there are collections of very rare and threatened species of plants. Some of the plants you will see here have been extinct in the wild and only live at Kew. Such a plant is the Encephalartos woodii (The South African cycad).

The Waterlily House

Have you ever seen a giant waterlily? Me neither, before visiting Kew Gardens. The Waterlily house is the most humid greenhouse from Kew Gardens and is the home of many heat loving plants. It was interesting to learn how the waterlilies from Amazon can grow so big that they can support a child’s weight. Of course, it is not recommended (or allowed) to let your child jump on them, but still it’s amazing how much strength these plants hold on their leaves.

The Princess of Wales Conservatory

Stepping into the Princess of Wales Conservatory is like entering the jungle from an exotic destination, like Malaysia or Indonesia. The first thing you notice is the high humidity and the warm temperature. But no wonder, this conservatory is home to many tropical plants, cacti and orchids. You will also find here a large collection of carnivore plants, out of which I recognised the Venus Fly Trap, which I once tried to grow in my own apartment.

An interesting fact is that below the conservatory there is a time capsule buried by Sir David Attenborough, with seeds of basic crops, endangered plant species but also a few books on conservation. The capsule will be opened in 2085.

The Arboretum

One fantastic fact about Kew Gardens is that the trees planted here are cleaning the air in London, with over 8.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide absorbed each year. There are around 14,000 trees in the Royal Botanical Gardens, some of them as old as the garden itself, dating all the way back from the 18 th century. The trees are planted in groups according to their species (over 2,000), with some very rare and ancient ones. The tallest tree at Kew Gardens is a coastal redwood, measuring 39,3 meters high, while the oldest ones are the Japanese pagoda tree (around 250 years old), the Lucombe Oak and the black locust tree.

Strolling inside the oak forest made me feel that I was in a different place, not in London but Canada or somewhere in North America.

The Plant Family Beds and the Kitchen Garden

This was one of my favourite parts of the garden to walk in. Even if it was autumn when I visited and not many species were still blooming, I enjoyed all the colours and the pretty butterflies flying from one flower to another.

The plant family beds are found in any botanical garden in the world and represent the arrangement of plants according to their relationship with each other. The scientists at Kew have been researching about the way plants relate to each other through their DNA and molecular characteristics.

Next to the Plant Family Beds is the Kitchen Garden, an area where fruits and vegetables have been grown all the way back since 1759, for King George III. Today there are over 250 different fruits and vegetables growing in the garden. I was delighted to see apples, pumpkins, a few giant cabbages and some turnips.

The Rock Garden

I didn’t really know what to expect from the Rock Garden until I found myself going downhill, through a path surrounded by colourful plants growing on high sandstones. The rock garden is a representation of the Pyrenean mountain habitat, a 150 meters valley with the path passing through simulating the course of a river. The rock garden is the home of over 3,000 alpine plants originally from Europe, South and North America, Asia, Africa and the Mediterranean climate, Australia and North America.

The Kew Palace and the Queen’s Garden

Kew Palace is the smallest British royal Palace and it is best known as the temporary “refuge” of King George III, the place where he was locked during his “madness” period. Beforehand however, the palace was used by the King and his family as a summer residence.

The Palace was built in 1631 but a Dutch Architect and this is why it looks like a piece of Netherlands on UK soil. If you look closely over the front door, you will notice a lover’s knot with the initials C and S on it. They stand for Samuel Fortrey, the Flemish merchant who built the palace and his wife, Catherine de Latfeur. The symbol of their love stands there even 400 years after their death!

Currently the Palace is closed for winter.

In the rear of the Kew Palace you will find a charming little garden with plants that used to grow in the 17 th century. Most of them are medicinal plants and on the label next to them you will find what they were used for and a quote from an herbal book.

Queen Charlotte’s Cottage

King George III has built this cottage for his wife, Charlotte, in the 18 th century. The cottage was used as a resting place during their walk and had a small menagerie in the back where exotic animals like kangaroos or black swans were held.

The Minka House and the Bamboo Garden

Towards the back of Kew Gardens, after walking through the beautiful quiet forests, in the middle of the bamboo garden you will find the Minka House, an original traditional Japanese farmhouse. The house dates from the early 19 th century and it was used by Yonezu family from Okazaki City, in central Japan. It was donated to Kew Gardens after the last member of the family died.

The Minka houses were used by farmers, merchants or artisans and they were built with a low roof to protect them from rain and snow but also to keep them shade from the hot summers. They were divided into 2 areas: the floor of compacted earth and a raised platform for sleeping, with a built-in hearth for cooking and heating.

The Bamboo Garden is one of the UK’s largest collection, with around 1200 species growing around the Minka House.

The Great Pagoda

Unfortunately, the Pagoda was still under renovation when I visited Kew Gardens but rumours say that it’s supposed to open again to the public next year.

The Pagoda has been built in 1762 as a copy of the Chinese Ta. Back then it was such an unusual building in Europe that people didn’t believe it would stand up for long. However, it did and now the 10-storey high tower is one of the garden’s landmarks.

The pagoda is decorated with 80 wooden dragons and covered in ceramic tiles. A local tale says that the dragons used to be made from gold but have been sold by Kind George IV to cover his debt. Historians say that this is not true, the dragons were carved in wood from the beginning but overtime, they have rotten.

The Japanese Garden

Next to the Grand Pagoda you will find the beautiful and peaceful Japanese Garden, split into three areas: The Garden of Peace, The Garden of Activity and The Garden of Harmony. All three are leading up towards the Chokushi-Mon, a four-fifths scale replica of the gate from Kyoto’s Nishi Hongan-ji temple.

The Garden of Peace is created to resemble a traditional Japanese garden, with stone lanterns and a dripping water basin. The Garden of Activity symbolises the world, with elements reminding us of the sea, the mountains and the waterfalls. Between them stands the Garden of Harmony, linking them through shrubs and tocks representing the mountains of Japan.

The Sackler Crossing

Crossing the Sackler bridge I couldn’t not notice the beautiful reflections of the autumnal colours of the trees, in the water. It looked like the two entities are blending into each other, not knowing anymore which is the lake and which is the land. This is because the trees surrounding the lake are Chinese tupelo, known for their dramatic colour change in autumn.

The Slacker Crossing is made out of black granite, with bronze posts which from a distance give the impression of a solid wall. The bridge crosses the lake in an S shape, mimicking the rounded banks of the lake.

Rhododendron Dell

If you are wondering what a rhododendron is, you are not alone. I was asking myself the same thing while looking at the map of Kew Gardens and wondering if I should make my way all the way to the other side or now. To answer the question, yes, do make your way up there because rhododendrons are beautiful woody flower shrubs which grow up high in the mountains. The most common of them is the azalea, a flower we all know.

The rhododendron represents over 1000 different species of plants, out of which you can find hundreds at Kew Gardens. They are best seen in late spring, when they are all in full bloom.

The Woodland Garden and the temple of Aeolus

The original temple of Aeolus was built out of wood on an artificial mound, offering beautiful views over the gardens. However, by the middle of the 18 th century it has been rebuilt in stone because the wood had rotten. The temple was dedicated to the Greek God of Winds.

The temple is surrounded today by oaks and maple trees and led to by a path through a carpet of primulas and blue poppies.

The Marianne North Gallery

This gallery is dedicated to Marianne North, the daughter of an MP who travelled alone in South America, Asia, South Africa and America to paint plants. Back in her days it was very unusual for a woman to travel alone. The gallery has 832 paintings, all belonging to Marianne North.

The Shirley Sherwood Gallery

Next to the Marianne North Gallery you will find the Shirley Sherwood collection of botanical art, one of the largest in the world. The oldest piece is in the museum dates from 512 and represents an illustrated copy of the Dioscorides’ de Materia Medica, a book written between 50AD and 70AD by a Greek physician from the Roman army, Pedanius Dioscorides.

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110 thoughts on “ Everything you need to know about visiting Kew Gardens in London ”

I live just a few miles up the road from Kew Gardens and haven’t been since I was a young child and barely remember it (entrance cost 1p back then!), however we are visiting this weekend and very much looking forward to it. I’d forgotten just how enormous it is. My late aunt worked there pressing flowers which she loved. Your guide has been useful in deciding what to see during our visit (basically as much as possible but definitely The Hive, treetop walk, Pagoda, Palace etc etc). Think we could do with two whole days! Your pictures are wonderful and I’m sure I will be taking many this weekend. Anyone wanting a lovely lunch or proper afternoon tea whilst visiting the gardens, there is a gorgeous olde worlde tea room across the main road called Newens (Maids of Honour) that I highly recommend. It gets very busy though as it’s so popular with tourists and locals alike. By the way, anyone thinking Kew is amidst the hustle and bustle of central London, it isn’t, it’s on the outskirts, in suburbia ;). There are many beautiful, open green spaces in London and its suburbs.

Wow, as a Northener, I had no idea that there was so much to do and see at Kew Gardens. It looks wonderful and I really want to visit after reading your guide and looking at your beautiful photographs. It’s definitely going to be on my must-see list of places x

Oh wow, this is such an informative guide – you have covered so much! The photos are beautiful. I have always wanted to go to Kew but so far not made it. Hopefully one day! X

I’m so glad that I found this! I am visiting London on December and I will definitely go to Kew Gardens. I am putting it to a list of places I must visit in London. 🙂

This looks like a beautiful place to visit. If I am ever in London I will have to stop by.

Its so nice to visit some places like this. Peaceful and relaxing. London is on our bucketlist and we will definitely find this place there.

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Kew Gardens In London – A Complete Guide

Posted on Last updated: 23 March 2024

Categories England , London

Beautiful Kew Gardens, London’s largest World Heritage Site, is not just home to an enormous collection of plants. Here’s a guide to visiting.

Table of Contents

How To Get To Kew Gardens

Kew Gardens is located on the outskirts of the city of London in the Borough of Richmond Upon Thames.

Parking is limited, so it’s recommended that you use public transport to get there.

From central London, Route 65 stops close to the following Kew Garden entrances – Lion Gate, Elizabeth Gate and Victoria Gate.

Route 110 stops near Kew Gardens station and Elizabeth Gate. Routes 237 and 267 stop at Kew Bridge station.

All single bus routes are presently £2 and the journey time varies depending on traffic.

It takes approximately half an hour to reach Kew Gardens by train from central London.

You can get a South Western Railway train from London Waterloo or, for the fastest train from London to Kew Gardens, hop on at Clapham Junction.

Kew Bridge Station is the nearest to Kew Gardens. From Kew Bridge, you’re just 800m from the Elizabeth Gate entrance.

Tickets start at £6.40 one way.

Kew Gardens Station is the nearest tube station to the garden. This station is just 500m from the Victoria Gate entrance at Kew Gardens.

You can take one direct tube, on the District Line, from London Victoria to Kew Gardens Underground Station. Tubes leave every 15 minutes and the journey takes approximately 30 minutes. 

Tickets cost between £2 – £5.

For those short on time, or those that prefer everything to be organised for them, there are some awesome tours on  Get Your Guide  available to book in advance.

Also, for all tourists visiting London, I recommend purchasing a  Go City London Pass .

These are a great way of saving money when visiting multiple tourist attractions during your stay in London.

Kew Gardens Entrance Fee

1st February to 31st October (Peak)

Adults: £21.50 (£17 in advance).

1st November to 31st January (Off Peak)

Adults: £14 (£12 in advance)

Kew Gardens Opening Times

Kew Gardens is open every day, except for 24th and 25th December.

Monday – Friday: 10am to 7pm

Saturday – Sunday: 10am to 8pm

Last entry is an hour before closing time.

Best Time To Visit Kew Gardens

Spring and summer are the most popular times to visit, as this is when you will see the most vibrant and eye-catching floral displays.

Also, the weather is more likely to be nice at this time of year, making it enjoyable to walk through the grounds.

Spring is especially recommended for the carpet of bluebells in the woodland and the beautiful blossoms as you stroll down Cherry Walk.

However, if you like it a little quieter, autumn offers some wonderful woodland walks and the opportunity to witness the changing seasons and rich autumnal colours. As well as the fungi!

Winter is probably not the best time to visit the outdoor gardens but there’s still plenty to look at in the expanse of greenhouses.

You are allowed to take your own picnic into Kew Gardens and it makes for the perfect place to enjoy some ‘al fresco’ dining when the weather is nice.

Don’t forget your camera – there’s plenty of great London photo opportunities !

What To Pack

Photography Camera

Reusable Water Bottle

Lightweight Rain Jacket

Kew Gardens History

The origins of Kew Gardens can be traced back to 1772, when the royal estates of Richmond and Kew were merged.

Stunning Kew Palace is the oldest building within the gardens. It was used as the summer home of King George III in the 18th century. 

Over the years, many more buildings, including the Great Pagoda, the Orangery, the Palm House and the Temperate House, have been erected. With the latter now being the largest Victorian glasshouse in existence. 

In 1840, the gardens were adopted as a national botanical garden. Following which, the size of the grounds has gradually been extended to todays 300 acres full of more than 50,000 plants.

In addition there are over 7 million preserved specimens, many of them gathered by well known scientists and explorers like Charles Darwin and David Livingstone.

Interestingly, five of the original trees planted at the outset of the gardens are still standing and known as the ‘Five Lions’. 

Restoration, maintenance and development are a constant at Kew Gardens and it has had more than a few set backs over the years. Including the Tea House being burned down in 1913 by suffragettes and hundreds of trees being lost in the great storm of 1987.

However, in July 2003, Kew Gardens made it onto the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

What To Expect At Kew Gardens

World famous Kew Gardens is London’s largest UNESCO World Heritage Site and is on many peoples bucket list of best things to do in London.

Officially known as Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, it is also home to the world’s largest and most diverse collection of living plants.

There’s plenty to explore, including stunning themed gardens, enormous glasshouses and fascinating treetop walkways. As well as the opulent Kew Palace, the Great Pagoda and a botanical art gallery and library.

So, even if you are not a super-keen horticulturist, Kew Gardens still has plenty to offer including some stunning architecture, artwork and literature.

However, you can’t fail but be impressed by the amazing colours, smells and diversity of plants as you walk through the grounds of Kew.

Covering an area of over 300 acres, you’ll probably need 3-4 hours at least to make the most of the gardens, with lots of people choosing to stay all day.

If you are going to spend the day out here on your London itinerary , you could always take a picnic to enjoy in the beautiful surroundings.

Alternatively, if you don’t fancy packing a picnic, there are a variety of on-site cafes and restaurants serving up some tasty cuisine.

From the Family Kitchen serving pizza, salads and sandwiches to the more formal Botanical Brasserie and everything in-between, there’s plenty of choice.

There are also several gift shops filled with beautiful homeware, books, stationery, gifts and souvenirs if you want a memento from your visit.

Entry prices vary depending on the time of year. For more info see Kew Gardens Admission Ticket .

Fun fact : Kew Gardens has its own police force, Kew Constabulary, which has been in operation since 1845! 

Where To Stay In London

The London EDITION

The London EDITION is located in central London’s Fitzrovia district, with Oxford Street, Theatreland and Piccadilly Circus all within a 10-minute walk. 

Inside, there is a Michelin star restaurant, 2 cocktail bars, a 24-hour front desk, free WiFi and free use of the on-site fitness centre for all guests. 

With a view of the vibrant city, each en suite room come with a flat-screen TV and air-conditioning. An iPod docking station, bathrobes and a mini-bar are also provided. 

Each evening, the restaurant offers a contemporary British menu using fresh, British produce.

Corus Hotel Hyde Park

Set within a 20-minute walk from Royal Albert Hall and boasting a stylish, spacious piano lounge , Corus Hotel Hyde Park features modern rooms with free WiFi. 

The hotel is just a 10-minute walk from Paddington Station, offering a direct train link to Heathrow Airport.

The cosy, air-conditioned bedrooms at Corus Hotel have private en-suite bathrooms and satellite TVs with on-demand movies. Rooms also feature work desks, tea/coffee facilities, iron and ironing boards. 

The conservatory brasserie serves a modern European menu using seasonal produce. 

Olio Bar offers light snacks and beverages, and overlooks Hyde Park.

The Queens Hostel

Featuring free WiFi, The Queens Hostel offers accommodation in London, just a 2-minute walk to Queens Park Rangers football stadium. 

Guests can enjoy the on-site bar. Rooms come with a shared bathroom. 

You can play tennis at this hostel, and the area is popular for golfing.

For more places to stay in London, you can check the latest prices on  Booking.com .

Planning Your Trip

Book your flight.

Use  Skyscanner  to find a cheap flight. 

They search websites and airlines around the globe to find you the best possible routes and prices.

Book Your Accommodation

Use  Booking.com  to find the best accommodation deals.

They consistently return the cheapest rates on everything from guesthouses to hotels for all of your budget needs.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance

Use SafetyWing to find the best travel insurance for you.

They provide travel and medical incident insurance built specifically for digital nomads.

Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations.

Book Your Tours & Activities

Use GetYourGuide to book your activities in advance.

They sell the best tours, excursions and activities to attractions around the world.

Conveniently book, download and access your tickets on the move all from your mobile. 

Book Your Rental Car

Use RentalCars.com to find the best deals on rental cars in the area.

They compare all major car rental companies and allow you to easily book the perfect vehicle for your trip.

Buy Those Last Minute Bits

Use Amazon to buy everything you need for your adventure.

They offer next day delivery and you can use my travel packing checklist to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything.

Pin It For Later

Wim Harrington

Thursday 29th of February 2024

Hi Charlie, my father studied as a horticulturalist at Kew Gardens. He is past away now, but Kew was the key to his career, as the Head of Parks Department for the London Borough of Hounslow and a judge at the Chelsea flower show. Do you have any details on Kew as a “University” for students? When did it start / end this role? Any facts you have - much appreciated!

Exploring the Top Attractions of London's Kew Gardens

Written by Bryan Dearsley Updated Dec 26, 2023 We may earn a commission from affiliate links ( )

Officially known as the Royal Botanic Gardens , the spectacular 330-acre Kew Gardens is widely considered the world's most important collection of living plants. Situated in southwest London on the banks of the River Thames, between Kew and Richmond in the county of Surrey, it also serves as an internationally acclaimed botanical research and education institution, employing over 650 staff.

All told, Kew Gardens boasts more than 30,000 plant types, while its impressive Herbarium (open to researchers only) includes a collection of over seven million specimens. Adding to its prestige is the fact many of the specimens in this vast collection were in fact gathered by some of England's most famous scientists and explorers, such as Charles Darwin and David Livingstone .

Founded in 1759, Kew Gardens is one of England's top tourist attractions with some 2.1 million visitors passing through each year. It's a wonderful place to spend a day, whether you're a fan of flowers or fantastic architecture, or simply looking for some superb green space in which to relax.

And if you're visiting London in winter, check out the availability of tickets for Kew's magnificent displays of illuminations during the popular (and often sold out) Christmas at Kew event. Adding to the magic are numerous vendors selling seasonal foods and beverages, the perfect way to keep warm (and merry!) as you explore this magical setting.

To learn more about the many fun things to do here, be sure to read through our list of the top attractions of London's Kew Gardens.

See also: Where to Stay near London's Kew Gardens

On This Page:

• Flowers, Plants, Trees, and Glasshouses: Kew's Many Wonderful Gardens
• Palaces to Pagodas: Kew's Superb Architecture
• Visually Stunning Galleries and Museums
• Adventure, Exploration, and Education

Touring Kew Gardens

Tips and tactics: how to make the most of your visit to kew gardens, getting to kew gardens, what's nearby, where to stay near london's kew gardens, 1. flowers, plants, trees, and glasshouses: kew's many wonderful gardens.

Kew Gardens is home to countless superb collections of plants, each handily contained in well-marked areas. Collections include everything from cacti to carnivorous plants, ornamental grasses to orchids, and roses to rhododendrons.

While many of these collections are found outdoors (Britain's climate is perfect for gardening), there are also numerous collections set in Kew's many unique glasshouses, ensuring a visit at any time of year can still be rewarding.

The Ultra-Modern Davies Alpine House

A relatively new addition to Kew, the spectacularly modern Davies Alpine House opened in 2006 and reaches a height of 10 meters at its center. It was designed specifically for plants capable of surviving at altitudes of up to 2,130 meters.

Displays are frequently rotated and include small ferns and lavenders, thymes and tulips, along with lesser-known species. One of the most interesting species housed here is the extremely rare Chilean Blue Crocus, once thought to be extinct.

The Palm House

The stunning Palm House, along with the fully restored Temperate House, earned the architect and engineer duo of Decimus Burton and Richard Turner great acclaim at the time of its construction in the mid 19th century.

The Palm House alone contains an astounding 16,000 panes of glass, along with many rare species of plants, including the double coconut palm (the plant with the world's largest seed). Another highlight here is a cycad specimen that's been in Kew since 1775. An elevated walkway has been added to the structure to allow a bird's-eye view of its trees.

The Temperate House

Built along with the Palm House by Decimus Burton and Richard Turner in the mid 19th century, the Temperate House is also well worth a visit. It's home to more than 1,500 temperate plant species from across the globe, and also offers a stunning glimpse of Victorian-era architecture.

Princess of Wales Conservatory

Opened in 1987 by Princess Diana , the Princess of Wales Conservatory is home to 10 unique microclimate zones and includes 1,500 species of tropical orchids and water lilies, including giant Asian specimens.

Floor-level viewing windows also allow visitors a fascinating look into a variety of marine species. These include piranha fish, along with tree frogs and water dragons.

Waterlily House

The hottest (and most humid) of Kew's many houses, the Waterlilly House was built in 1852 as a home for the largest species of water lilies. Some of them, like the Victoria amazonica , can grow many feet in diameter and live for decades.

The Life of Trees: Explore the Arboretum

Kew's awesome arboretum covers more than half of the property's 300 acres and includes a huge collection of hardy trees. Divided into three regions, its sections include the North Arboretum, with the original 1759 botanic garden; the West Arboretum , with the Lake, Bamboo Garden, and Rhododendron Dell; and the South Arboretum, with its Berberis Dell and the grounds of Queen Charlotte's Cottage .

The nearly mile-long Holly Walk contains the largest collection of mature hollies in Europe. Once a laneway that joined two former estates, this lovely walk includes many original trees planted in 1875. While most popular in late autumn, they do bloom with small white flowers in spring.

2. Palaces to Pagodas: Kew's Superb Architecture

In addition to its many superb collections of flowers and plants, Kew Gardens is also of great interest to students of fine architecture. Whether your preference is for historic or modern day structures, you'll find something impressive in this fine collection of architectural styles.

Queen Charlotte's Cottage

Built for Queen Charlotte between 1754 and 1771, this quaint thatched cottage was a long-time favorite residence of Queen Victoria . The garden and woodlands remain just as they were in her time and include one of London's loveliest displays of bluebells. Admission is limited to weekends and public holidays, so be sure to time your visit accordingly.

Kew Palace and the Royal Kitchens

Also referred to as the Dutch House for its construction style (it was built for a Dutch merchant), Kew Palace-the smallest of Britain's royal palaces-was most famously occupied by George III during his fits of madness.

The furniture, furnishings, and art provide a fascinating glimpse into the domestic life of the royal family in Georgian times. Of special interest are the wonderfully restored kitchens, along with the Queen's Garden, with its collection of rare 18th-century medicinal plants.

The Japanese Collection: Chokushi-Mon and Minka House

Brought to Kew in 1911, the Chokushi-Mon (translated as the Imperial Envoy's Gateway) is a lovely, not-quite-full-size replica of the gateway into one of Tokyo's holiest temples.

The Minka House is another must-see. This lovely traditional Japanese wooden house (or minka) was originally erected in Japan in 1900 and reassembled in Kew's Bamboo Garden in 2001.

The Nash Conservatory

The oldest of Kew's glasshouses, the Nash Conservatory was originally located at Buckingham Palace but was moved to Kew in 1836. This stunning piece of architecture, designed by John Nash and lovingly restored, is now used as Kew's educational center and for functions and is a must-see for its superb styling.

The Orangery

Designed by William Chambers, the lovely Orangery was built in 1761 and for many years was the largest classical-style building in Kew Gardens. Built as a hothouse for citrus plants (something it was soon apparent the structure wasn't well suited to), this lovely building is now home to a great restaurant.

Erected in 1762, Kew's spectacular Pagoda is 49 meters high with 10 stories, each of which has a projecting roof. The steep staircase is located in the center of the building and remains a focal point of the splendid gardens surrounding it.

After major renovations, the public can once again climb its 253 steps in order to admire the views over the surrounding area. This must-see Kew attraction is closed during the winter months.

3. Visually Stunning Galleries and Museums

Kew Gardens contains a number of stellar art collections focusing on plants and flowers, as well as an interesting museum dedicated to gardening. As tempting as it might be to stay outdoors, be sure to take some time checking out these fantastic displays.

The Marianne North Gallery of Botanic Art

Opened in 1882, the Marianne North Gallery of Botanic Art pays homage to the artist after which this massive collection is named. The daughter of a politician, North traveled far and wide across North and South America, Asia, and Africa in order to pursue her passion for painting plants and flowers.

This stunning collection includes 832 of her paintings and is Britain's only permanent art exhibit dedicated to the career of just one woman.

Museum No 1

Opened in 1857, Museum No 1 is in fact Kew's only remaining museum, and houses a superb collection of tools, clothing, food, and medicines. Established to demonstrate our dependence upon plants, the collection includes some 83,000 specimens under themes such as Healing plants and Plants for Energy .

There are also numerous interesting rarities, including a portion of a wreath found in the coffin of Pharaoh Rameses II.

The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art

The Shirley Sherwood Gallery was the first gallery in the world dedicated solely to botanical art. Here you'll find works by the Bauer Brothers, Walter Hood Fitch, and Georg Ehret. Exhibits are rotated regularly.

4. Adventure, Exploration, and Education

Kew Gardens is also a great place to entertain-and educate-kids of all ages. Adults, too, will love the many fun opportunities to explore the life of plants and related areas of 'non-stuffy' study.

Established in 1841, the Library at Kew Gardens boasts the world's most comprehensive collection of botanical reference books. It's also home to more than 300,000 books and magazines, seven million letters and private papers, 200,000 pieces of art, and more than 200,000 photos.

Kew has also done a superb job of ensuring that even its lowly old Compost Heap is of interest to visitors. Kew's compost is derived from waste from the gardens and the stables of the Household Cavalry and is used mainly in the gardens. A viewing platform-made of illegally harvested wood seized by British customs-offers a fascinating glimpse into the composting process, plus a chance to see Kew's resident peacocks enjoying the warmth the compost pile generates.

Walking Tall: The Treetop Walkway

Fun for the whole family, the excellent Treetop Walkway is almost 18 meters high and 200 meters long and extends across a lovely wooded area of Kew Gardens. A lift takes visitors to the start of the walkway (there are also stairs).

Tracing Roots: The Remarkable Rhizotron

This unique display provides visitors with a fascinating insight into what goes on underground to enable a tree to mature and grow, and includes a series of fun, interactive screens showing the role of roots and soil in this lifecycle.

The newest of Kew's many unique structures, The Hive offers guests a fascinating opportunity to better understand how bees function in our world, and the importance of their sometimes fragile existence.

Standing 17 meters high and resembling the complex interior of a beehive, this impressive aluminum structure was erected in Kew in 2015 in a charming wildflower meadow. It cleverly uses displays of light and sound triggered by an actual beehive located elsewhere on the site.

Sackler Crossing

Made from black granite and bronze, the spectacular Sackler Crossing spans the lake at Kew Gardens and is noteworthy for its minimalist, sweeping double-curve design. The bridge is part of a trail network connecting the art galleries with the glasshouses and woodlands, as well as the Minka House .

Excellent guided walking tours are available for visitors to Kew Gardens at no cost (daily at 11am and 2pm). Those with hearing issues can also enjoy tours led by guides trained in sign language, while special sensory tours are available for the blind and visually impaired. Themed tours of facilities such as the greenhouses and library are also available (check the Kew website for further details).

The Kew Explorer , a fun "road train," takes visitors on a circular tour around the property. A running commentary is provided, and you can exit the vehicle at designated stops. Separate tickets are required and can be purchased from the driver.

• Tickets: If possible, save time by purchasing your tickets online.
• Garden Guides: An excellent series of printed guides are available for purchase (and sometimes for free) prior to your visit or from the Kew Gardens shops. These include maps, apps, and souvenir guides. Discounts for these guides are offered when purchasing tickets online.
• Food and Drink: Five food outlets are available at Kew, including quick snacks, kid-friendly restaurants, and fine dining.
• Events: Be sure to check Kew Gardens' online calendar prior to your visit for useful information regarding special events and closures (see their official website link below).
• By Underground: Kew Gardens Station is connected to London's Underground network via the District Line and is just a few minutes' walk from the attraction.
• By Train : South West Trains operate direct to Kew Bridge Station from Waterloo (via Vauxhall and Clapham Junction). For further details, including special two-for-one admissions, visit www.nationalrail.co.uk .
• By Road: Kew Gardens is well signposted from Kew and Richmond (the postal code for GPS systems is TW9 3AB). But, as is so often the case in London, public transit is convenient, inexpensive, safe, and reliable.
• Parking: On-site parking is limited (paid), and some free parking is available on Kew Road (A307) after 10am.
• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey
• http://www.kew.org/

While a visit to Kew Gardens can easily swallow up the best part of a day, if you do find yourself in a position to explore a little further afield, you'll be well rewarded for the effort. Two excellent museums close by are the London Museum of Water and Steam , with its collection of working steam engines, and the Musical Museum, located at Kew Bridge, with its superb collection of automated musical instruments.

The town of Richmond is also fun to explore and offers many great opportunities for a riverside stroll along the Thames, as well as dining and shopping. Alternatively, if you haven't had enough of big open green spaces, pay a visit to the 2,300-acre Richmond Park , the largest city park in Britain and a popular spot for a picnic.

We recommend these great hotels near London's famous Kew Gardens:

• Hilton London Syon Park : This 4-star luxury hotel is popular for its beautiful grounds, gourmet dining, and deluxe spa.
• Clayton Hotel Chiswick : Popular for its mid-range pricing, the Clayton offers excellent service, modern decor, underground parking, and a great breakfast buffet.
• Premier Inn London Ealing Hotel : This hotel features affordable rates, secure parking, and comfortable beds.
• Travelodge London Richmond Central : This popular budget hotel is known for its helpful staff, and is located near restaurants and shops.

More Related Articles on PlanetWare.com

Nearby Attractions : If there's still a little room in your London travel itinerary for other great attractions in the vicinity of Kew, be sure to include stunning Hampton Court Palace . Hampton Court is one of the best places to get your Royal Family fix, with guided tours providing access to a variety of historic rooms and apartments. Consider also Wimbledon , home to the world's best-known tennis championships and the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, and, closer to the heart of London, magnificent Hyde Park , where you'll also find another great royal residence, Kensington Palace. For the big picture, have a look at our Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in London .

More on England

The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Kew Gardens

Kew gardens ultimate guide.

Don’t let the word “gardens” fool you, because Kew’s Royal Botanical Gardens are more than just collections of pretty flowers to snap photos of. As a matter of fact, the Kew Gardens are actually a living, breathing collection of some of the most stunning botanical art on the planet, and are a must-see for any visitor to London (whether you’re a nature fanatic or not).

With over 300 acres to explore, Kew Gardens is one of the biggest living plant collections in the world, and even contain the largest display of seasonal flowers in Britain. Not just limited to flowers, the Kew Gardens also contain historic glasshouses, rare specimen trees, serene woodlands, and even playground areas for children to play in.

The Kew Gardens were first created in 1759, and showcase some of the best gardening art from the 18th to 20th centuries. Not only has it become one of the most popular tourist attractions in London, it’s also an environment where plant scientists can study plant diversity and economic botany as well.

Kew Gardens Highlights

Kew Gardens are not simply a place to wind down after a free tour or day of sightseeing. These gardens pack a punch! From waterfalls, lilypads and crocuses (two million of them to be exact), to plant tunnels, treetop walkways and bamboo gardens, one could easily spend an entire afternoon walking around the many attractions in the Kew Gardens and still not see all there is to see.

In May, the Kew Gardens spring to life (literally) and the blooming of bluebells are especially popular among visitors; but it’s during the summer months when the Kew Gardens are perhaps at their most beautiful. During these months, visitors can breathe in the smell of aromatic plants (like lavender, thyme, rosemary, sage and oregano, just to name a few), and also see a collection of Mediterranean fruits and vegetables (including nine different types of aubergine!)

Out of all the different types of plants and flowers species located in the Kew Gardens, none are as famous or as popular as the 250-year-old Old Lions, which are the oldest trees at Kew Palace.

The Bamboo Gardens (located at the historic Japanese Minka House which dates back to the early 1900s) are another fan-favourite, as here you can see the largest collection of bamboos in the UK.

Past visitors also highly recommend a stroll along the Treetop Walkway, which provides visitors with a bird’s eye view of the Kew Gardens from 59 feet up in the air.

Special Tips

Getting There

Visiting kew gardens.

The majority of past visitors leave Kew Gardens wishing they had more time to explore its many acres, so try to reserve at least a full afternoon to spend at the gardens (or two hours minimum). You may be walking for hours on end, so make sure you wear comfortable walking shoes, and warm clothing during the winter months.

All of the important flowers, trees and plants throughout Kew Gardens have identification labels so you can read more information on them during your visit However, it still may be a good idea to get an official guidebook to read as you’re walking through the gardens; (you can pick up the official guidebook at the Kew Gardens’ entrance). Visitors are also given a map which highlights all the attractions throughout the gardens, and even child-friendly attractions to visit as well.

Be aware that there are four entrance gates to the Kew Gardens which may be confusing for first-time visitors:

• The Victoria Gate is the closest entrance to the Kew Gardens underground station, and is located relatively close to the Palm House and the Princess of Wales Conservatory. Free daily guided tours start from Victoria Gate, and the nearby Victoria Plaza has a café, lockers and toilet facilities as well.
• The Elizabeth Gate is the closest gate to the Kew Bridge rail station, and is convenient for visitors who are using boat services from Westminster.
• Brentford Gate is just across from Kew’s Ferry Lane car park, and is close to the White Peaks Cafe and the Climbers and Creepers play area. Also close by are the Palm House and the Princess of Wales Conservatory.
• Lion Gate is the closest entrance to Richmond Station, and is the only gate at the southern section of the gardens; (thus it is the furthest away from attractions like the Palm House, the Princess of Wales Conservatory and the Climbers and Creepers children’s play area). It is relatively close to the Kew’s Pagoda, as well as the Pavilion Restaurant, and it tends to be less crowded even during the summer months.

Be aware that bicycles, animals and tree-climbing are all strictly forbidden inside the gardens, and perhaps it may go without saying, but avoid touching any of the plants or wildlife at all costs.

Visitors are allowed to have picnics anywhere in the Kew Gardens, except for in the glasshouses or on planted areas. No furniture or barbecues will be allowed past the entrance gates.

When to Visit

Admission into the Kew Gardens cost:

• £15 for adults (or £16.50 with a donation) at the door, or £14 if you purchase your ticket online beforehand.
• For seniors, students or visitors with a disability, tickets cost £14 at the door, £15.50 with a donation, or £13 online.
• For children (ages four to 16), tickets cost £3.50 at the gate, or £2.50 online
• There are also family tickets available which range from £19 to £34 at the gate, or £18 to £32 online.

The Kew Gardens are open every day throughout the year (except December 24th and 25th), and the gates open at 10 a.m.

If you wish to visit Kew Gardens, you might be interested in the many free tours in London that depart daily.

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8 Must-See Things At London’s Kew Gardens

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• Activities and Interests
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• United Kingdom

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, known simply as Kew Gardens , is located in Richmond, a suburban town in southwestern London. The garden, a UNESCO World Heritage site , dates to the 18th century, when it was established on the grounds of a royal palace.

Today, the garden is a globally renowned scientific institution for plant and fungal research. The original 9-acre area has expanded to include 300 acres containing more than 50,000 living plants. With its Victorian glasshouses, arboretum, and artwork, there is a lot to see.

Here are eight of the garden’s attractions that no visitor should miss.

Jeff Eden / RBG Kew

1. The Great Pagoda

The Great Pagoda was completed in 1762 as a gift for Princess Augusta, who founded Kew Gardens. When it was constructed, 80 dragons carved from gilded wood adorned the roofs of its 10 floors. The dragons were removed in 1784. There were rumors that they were sold to pay King George IV’s gambling debts, but it is more likely that they simply rotted over time. The Great Pagoda was restored in 2018, and the dragons are back . Eight of the first-floor dragons were produced in the traditional manner and hand-painted. The remaining 72 were 3-D printed in a robust polyimide material.

A circular staircase inside the pagoda allows visitors to climb to the top for spectacular views. There are a limited number of spaces available per time slot, and if you wish to climb the pagoda, you must pay an additional fee. There are 253 steps to the top.

If you choose not to climb to the top, you can look through the small room at the base of the pagoda at no additional cost. Here you’ll find information about the pagoda and its architect, Sir William Chambers. You’ll also find two automata . One shows the architect visiting Canton, China, where he studied pagodas. The other shows the royal family strolling through Kew Gardens. Handwheels at the bases of the automata allow you to control the moving parts.

2. The Japanese Landscape

Three garden areas make up the Japanese Landscape . The Garden of Peace, an area reminiscent of a traditional Japanese tea garden, features stone lanterns and a dripping water basin. Raked gravel and large rocks in the sloped Garden of Activity represent the movement of flowing water. The Garden of Harmony unites the two. All three combine to create a peaceful, manicured oasis.

At the center of the Japanese Landscape is the Chokushi-Mon, or Gateway of the Imperial Messenger. It was created for the Japan-British Exhibition of 1910 and is a replica of the Gate of Nishi Hongan-ji (Western Temple of the Original Vow) in Kyoto, Japan. Its finely carved wooden panels feature stylized flowers and animals that depict an ancient legend.

Gareth Gardner / RBG Kew

3. The Temperate House

The Temperate House , originally opened in 1863, is the world’s largest Victorian glasshouse. It has been an iconic landmark of Kew for more than 250 years. The Temperate House reopened in 2018 after a five-year renovation project. Filled with 10,000 individual plants, it is home to 1,500 species from Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific Islands, including some of the world’s rarest and most threatened temperate plants. All of the species require conditions above 50 degrees to survive.

Level pathways wind throughout the ground floor, and a balcony around the interior perimeter offers views from above. Note that the balcony is not wheelchair accessible.

4. The Treetop Walkway

You’ll find 14,000 trees in Kew Gardens. The Treetop Walkway provides an opportunity to get closer to those trees and offers views of the garden and the city beyond. Made of weathered steel that blends into the natural environment, the walkway stands 59 feet tall. It is 656 feet long and loops through the upper branches of beech, sweet chestnut, horse chestnut, and oak trees. The walkway offers a unique, ethereal perspective of nature. You’ll love watching bird and insect behavior at this height and hearing the breeze rustling the branches.

The 188 steps to the walkway are a manageable climb, since the steps are broken up into several flights and there’s a landing at the end of each flight. There is room on each landing to step out of the path of oncoming climbers to rest or simply take a few moments to admire the view. The walkway itself has chest-high railings, and several circular jut-outs along the way provide additional viewpoints. There is an elevator, but it was out of service on the day I visited. If you plan to use the elevator, check the Kew Gardens website for information about the elevator’s status. As I write this, the site says that the elevator is currently out of service.

There is no additional charge to access the Treetop Walkway. It closes an hour before the whole garden closes.

5. The Palm House

You can explore an indoor rainforest at the garden’s Palm House . The Palm House, which opened in 1848, was the first glasshouse to be built at Kew Gardens. Inside, you’ll find lush vegetation and dense, moist air. Many of the plants in the collection are endangered in the wild, and some are even extinct. Rainforest plants cover only 2 percent of the world’s surface but make up 50 percent of plant species. Look for the Madagascar periwinkle, now used to treat a number of different types of cancer; the rubber tree; the cocoa tree; and the cycads, or palm-like plants that were widespread more than 250 million years ago.

6. The Marianne North Gallery

With all there is to see at Kew Gardens, you might easily miss the attractive red brick building housing the Marianne North Gallery . But don’t hesitate to take a look inside — the exquisite interior, which incorporates different kinds of wood and stenciled floor tile, is home to more than 800 works of botanical art.

Marianne North was a wealthy, single Victorian woman who traveled the world solo in pursuit of interesting plants to paint. She was unconventional and ventured to some of the most remote places in the world. After 13 years of travel, she decided that she wanted to exhibit her vivid, detailed paintings in Kew Gardens, where her passion for plants began. She offered to build the gallery if Kew would display her work in it. The gallery was constructed in 1882, and a restoration of the building was completed in 2008.

7. The Princess Of Wales Conservatory

The Princess of Wales Conservatory is the newest glasshouse at Kew Gardens. It opened in 1987, and its 10 computer-controlled climate zones showcase a variety of ecosystems. In the carnivorous plant zone, you’ll find predatory plants such as Venus flytraps and pitcher plants. There are cacti and succulents in the dry tropical zone, orchids and bromeliads in the steamy zones, and a giant water lily in the wet tropical zone.

8. The Hive

The Hive , one of the most photographed spots in Kew Gardens, is an art installation located in the heart of a wildflower meadow. The 55-foot-tall structure depicts life inside a beehive. The mesh frame is constructed from 170,000 aluminum parts and 1,000 LED lights. The LED lights glow according to the vibrations of bees in the garden. You’ll hear the whirring of bees when you walk inside, as well as background music composed by musicians who improvised to a live feed of beehive sounds in the key of C.

There is something to see in every corner of Kew Gardens. Keep your eyes open as you walk from attraction to attraction. You’ll pass colorful border plantings, various styles of gardens, peaceful and majestic wooded areas, ornamental structures, and assorted garden art.

On the website , you’ll find more information on these and other attractions, as well as the park’s hours and fees. Note that the glasshouses close an hour before the garden closes.

London bound? Don’t miss these 10 free museums in the city . And when you’re ready for a break from the hustle and bustle, consider one of these eight amazing day trips from London .

Donna Janke is a writer based in Canada out of Winnipeg, Manitoba. She shares her travel discoveries on her blog, Destinations Detours and Dreams , using a combination of narrative, photography, and personal reflection, all with an eye for detail. Her interest in travel started as a child when books transported her around the world, and grew as she explored the world in person. Her life as a travel writer began after she retired from a professional career in IT. Donna loves discovering the unique character of places, near and far, and writing to inspire others in their travels. Her travel stories have been published in several outlets, and tend to focus on culture, history, nature, art, architecture, and food.

How to reach, timings, and tips to visit Kew Gardens London

Things to do in London London Attractions Landmarks in London Kew Gardens London

Fancy a treetop view encompassing birds, insects, fungi and lichen amidst the branches? Wonder how does it feel to be inside a real beehive? Well, the Kew Gardens offers you this and more botanical wonders inside. In 300 acres, the natural haven offers galleries of botanical art, glasshouses, various gardens, eateries and more.

Kew Gardens London

Located in the Kew district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in southwest London, the Royal Botanic Gardens, is the largest UNESCO World Heritage site in London. Also known as Kew Gardens, it is also the largest botanical collection in the world.

Featuring 18th to 20th century landscaping techniques and elements, the Kew Gardens house the most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world, representing nearly 95% of the vascular plants and 60% of the fungi.

The Kew Gardens is a leading conservation and scientific lab, and home to plant scientists who study more about plant diversity.

Kew Gardens - In a Nutshell

Kew gardens - things to know, kew gardens opening hours.

Weekdays: 10am - 7pm with the last entry at 6pm. Weekends: 10am - 8pm with the last entry at 7pm.

Must-see at Kew Gardens

Queen Charlotte's Cottage The Temperate Glasshouse Pagoda Xstrata Treetop Walkway

Kew Gardens Address

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Road, Richmond, London TW9 3AB, United Kingdom. Get there

Which Kew Gardens tickets should you buy?

Depending on whether you're a history lover, nature enthusiast or architecture admirer, your itinerary may vary. Hence it is important to plan ahead, skip the lines and book the best experience.

You may choose to book one of Headout's pre-planned tours , crafted combining the best experiences including the Kew Gardens in a package or book your Kew Garden tickets individually on the Headout app for just €11.

• Stop to smell the roses, away from the bustling city, at London's serene Kew Botanical Gardens.
• Wander through the wide stretches of lush green gardens and feel at peace.
• Featuring a host of conservatories, art galleries, and restaurants, there's plenty for you to engage yourself with.
• Discover the 120 hectares of gardens, the plethora of plants and trees from varying biomes.
• Explore the 2 upcoming exhibitions this year, the Secret World of Plants & Japan.
• All visitors to Kew Gardens aged 16 and over are requested to check-in using the NHS COVID-19 app upon arrival.
• Choose between standard and advanced booking options.
• The advanced option lets you book tickets up to 48 hours before your visit date.

Why visit Kew Gardens?

• With many galleries and natural retreats inside, Kew Gardens has a lot to vouch for.
• The rare and extinct species residing in the Kew Gardens are a wonder to look at and can exclusively only be found here. The Library inside contains 750,000 volumes and illustrations and is great way to learn about the plant families, their evolution and conservation.
• All the structures found inside have historical significance, and the tales behind them are fascinating. From chinoiserie to glass structures, the buildings are also architecturally diverse in nature.
• While he colourful blooms are a visual treat, the gardens can be the calm to the chaos of the outside world, and is a great way to connect back to nature.

In short, Kew gardens is the best bet if your looking for an educating and entertaining trip, in the cocoon of nature.

Plan your visit

Best time to visit the kew gardens.

Spring (April to May) is when the garden start showing signs of new blooms and starts displaying its eye-catching flora collections. Summer (June to August) is the time when the flowers and deciduous trees are in its best form.

Autumn , though not the best season to see the flowers, the crowds are lesser, and you get to experience the changing seasons. Even though the garden thrives inside the greenhouse, it is suggested to skip the visit in Winter .

It’s worth checking the website to find out what each season has to offer in detail.

Kew Gardens Opening hours

Kew Gardens open every day except for the 24th and 25th December .

On weekdays they are open from 10am - 7pm with last entry at 6pm.

On weekends they are open from 10am - 8pm with last entry at 7pm.

From 1 May to 30 September 2022, they do early openings for members at 8am.

The closing time may vary depending on seasons (due to the shorter days).

Getting to Kew gardens

• 65 (stops near to Lion, Elizabeth, and Victoria Gate)
• 110 (stops near to Kew Gardens station and Elizabeth Gate)
• 237 and 267 (stops at the Kew Bridge station)

By Tube Just a 15-minute walk away, the nearest station is Kew Gardens station (in Zone 3) which is located just 500m from the Victoria Gate.

By Train The closest station is the Kew Bridge Station, which is 800m from the Elizabeth Gate entrance.

All About Kew Garden Entrances

History behind the gardens.

Tracing its origins to the 18th century, the Kew Gardens were different estates belonging to the members of the Royal Family. It was Princess Augusta who created the first botanical garden with the assistance of Lord Bute and architect Sir William Chamber. King George III joined his estates of Richmond and Kew in the year 1802, and with the assistance of William Aiton and Sir Joseph Banks he started working on the landscape of the estates.

When the ownership of Kew Gardens was transferred from the Crown to the Government in the year 1840 due to negligence for years, it was renamed and taken in as the national botanical gardens and then expanded to start the Kew Gardens under its director William Hooker and its first curator John Smith.

Now the Kew Gardens are home to the Palm House which is ‘the world's most important Victorian glass and iron structure’, the Temperate House which is ‘the largest Victorian glasshouse’ in existence, and many more attractions created over the years.

The Kew Gardens were officially recognised among the World Heritage Sites in the year 2003.

Top things to see at Kew Gardens

1 queen charlotte's cottage.

The 17th century cottage was a rustic retreat for the royal family to rest, drink tea or have picnics while visiting the gardens. The paddock adjacent to the cottage once housed many exotic animals including the first kangaroos to arrive in the country, now extinct quagga, a pair of black swans, and buffaloes. You can see the Queen’s own collection of Hogarth prints in the print room downstairs or view Princess Elizabeth’s, the Queen’s daughter’s floral and bamboo artwork in the tearoom.

2 The Temperate Glasshouse

The glasshouse is home to the world’s rarest and most threatened temperate plants, including 6 species that are extinct and in the red list. The world’s largest surviving Victorian glasshouse covers a massive 4,880 square metres and its tallest peak is at 19 metres high.

With Chinese Chippendale railings and curved roofs, the chinoiserie building was entirely designed by the Swedish-Scottish architect Sir William Chambers. Built in the 18th century, it was a gift to Princess Augusta, who had employed him to construct many features in the garden. Offering the earliest and one of the best bird’s eye views of London, the Pagoda also holds exhibits on the building’s history.

4 Xstrata Treetop Walkway

Offering a magnificent bird’s eye view of forest canopy, the walkway is one of Kew Garden’s most popular attractions, especially to those who love a kick of adrenaline. Standing 18 metres tall and 200 metres long, the walkway is designed to slightly sway in the wind to give a more immersive experience through the foliage.

5 Palm House

Home to an exquisite collection of endangered and extinct plants including the cocoa tree or the African oil palm, you get to experience a slice of rainforest in the Palm House. Constructed in 1844, the greenhouse resembles an upturned hull of a ship as the architects borrowed ideas from the ship building industry to construct it. The humid environment inside creates the perfect environment for the lush plants and is home to the oldest pot plant in the world (more than 250 years).

The mesmerising geometric installation, standing tall at a towering 17 metres tall, features an immersive visual and auditory experience recreating the life inside a beehive. With 1,000 LED lights that glow according to vibrations of bee and 170,000 aluminium parts, the structure mimics the real visual effects of an actual beehive in Kew Gardens. A calming and serenading symphony of vocals and cello, all in the key of C is played to create a soundscape inspired by the hum of the bees (Scientists discovered bees buzz in the key of C).

7 Kew Palace

Known as the smallest palace in the whole country, it was originally built in 1631 for Samuel Fortrey a silk merchant. The Dutch house is one of the few surviving structures in the Kew Palace complex, along with the former brewhouse, housekeeper's cottage, and kitchen. Except for the kitchen, all the structures are open for public. In the 1720s, George II and Queen Caroline lived there. Later the palace became a refuge for George III when he was experiencing mental illnesses and Queen Charlotte who was taken in ill and passed away in the palace. Reflecting the intimate life of the royal families, the palace is a tale in itself.

8 Waterlily House

Featuring a circular pond spanning over 10 meters, the Waterlily house is the most iconic and second oldest of Kew Garden’s glasshouses. This glasshouse was specifically made to breed the giant Amazon waterlily (Victoria amazonica). The pond is also home to the Santa Cruz waterlilies (Victoria cruziana) known for its floating large lily pads which can grow up to 2 meters in size. In summer, you will be able to spot lotus, papyrus and more.

9 Davies Alpine House

Housing the Alpines, usually found in the mountaintops or the earth’s poles, these plants grow in extreme cold. The Davies Alpine House was designed to recreate these same extreme conditions, using two back-to-back arches to draw warm air out of the building. The glasshouse is known for its sustainable structure and energy efficient environment created using biomimicry techniques, inspired by the passive cooling found in termite mounds.

10 The Princess of Wales Conservatory

Opened in 1987 by Princess Diana, the conservatory boasts of 10 different climatic zones, taking you through a series of captivating ecosystems. Spanning over 4500 meters, the conservatory has recreated computer-controlled tropical rainforests to arid deserts in the glass structure. From Venus flytraps to bright bromeliads, the conservatory is home to all types of plant species.

Map of Kew Gardens

Facts you probably didn't know about Kew Gardens

• Kew Gardens contain a part of old London Bridge. The four granite blocks placed of the banks of the lake near the Sackler Crossing were once part of the 19th century bridge.
• The loneliest plant in the world, the Encephalartos woodii resides in the Kew Gardens. Found all alone in the Ngoya Forest in southern Africa by the botanist John Medley Wood, the tree was once munched by dinosaurs.
• The Kew Gardens are the most biodiverse place in the entire planet earth owing to its diverse collection of flora.
• Initially designed as a temporary exhibit for the UK Pavilion at the 2015 Milan Expo, the Hive found its final home in the Kew Gardens.

Best recommended tours to the Kew Gardens

Below are the tickets and tours to the Kew Gardens via the Headout app, for a seamless and stress-free booking experience.

Restaurants in Kew Gardens

Here are the top three places to eat at inside the Gardens.

Sporting the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets botanical lab looks, this restaurant is meant to make visitors feel as if they have shrunk into tiny creatures beside the fungi sculptures and giant apple seats. The whimsical restaurant offers stone baked pizza (customisable), salad bar, artisan sandwich station, ice cream booth and more. It is a fun place to hang out with kids and a definite visit for design junkies and sustainable interior enthusiasts.

Giving a sleek and modern feel, the steel frame along with the outdoor seating located amid the Arboretum, a unique landscape of 14,000 trees gives a calming picnic-in-the-trees vibe. The mid-range eatery features pork belly ribs, spatchcock chicken and vegan patties, all infused with the herbs from the Kew Garden itself. Though not cheap, they do offer a children’s menu and a family sharing platter. Find on Map >

The 18th-century building is sure to captivate you with its high ceilings and arched windows, along with the view from the terrace. The restaurant offers pastries, selection of sandwiches, freshly squeezed juices and more. Built in 1761 by architect Sir William Chambers, the teahouse is perfect for the British afternoon tea experience.

Accessibility at Kew Gardens

• Kew Gardens are susceptible to overhead noise due to its proximity to the Heathrow Airport flight path. Those with sensory disorders, noise sensitivity, etc would be advised to carry earplugs or headphones to avoid disturbances.
• 8 disabled car parks are available near the Brentford Gate, and 2 to the right of the Elizabeth Gate.
• There are unisex accessible toilets in all the washrooms.
• Brentford and Victoria Gates offer mobility scooters for hire, but they should be booked in advance.
• Only the Temperate House and Alpine House are the glassdoors accessible via wheelchairs/mobility scooters.The Princess of Wales Conservatory is partially accessible to wheelchairs during the Orchids festival.
• Kew Palace is accessible for wheelchair users, however small wheelchairs are required due the narrow paths inside.
• Though most of Kew Garden’s landscape is accessible via ramps, the following areas are not accessible with buggies - Queen Charlotte's Cottage, The Waterlily House, Xstrata Treetop Walkway, Galleries in both the Temperate House and the Palm House, The Waterlily House, The Aquatic Display in the Palm House , Queen Charlotte's Cottage, Kew Palace.

Good to know before visiting Kew Gardens

• Unless accompanied by an adult, children under the age of 16 are not permitted inside.
• Only adults with children are allowed inside the Children’s Garden(with a valid ticket).
• Visitors with disability can get a concession ticket.
• Carers accompanying visitors with a disability, such as registered blind and partially-sighted visitors can get in for free.
• Guide or assistance dogs (including those in training) can enter. Though make sure to have a lead or harness to identify them.

Insider tips

• Wear airy clothing, preferably a removable jacket as it can get really warm in the greenhouse.
• Wear comfortable footwear, as the walks around can be long.
• Do not forget to carry a good quality phone camera or your camera equipment with an empty memory card or those with lots of space to click enough pictures, and you do not want to miss on it.
• Do not hold yourselves back from spending the whole day there, in fact it is highly recommended.
• Though there are enough eateries around, don’t skip carrying snacks for your toddlers (and yourself) to munch on as the long walk inside may be tiring after a while (Food and drinks should not be taken inside the galleries).
• Some of the best picnic spots inside the Kew Gardens are - Next to the River Thames (marked as a viewpoint on the map), near the Waterlily Pond and in front of Queen Charlotte's Cottage.

Amal Karadi

Amal has always been fascinated by people, culture, and languages. She hopes to one day become a polyglot, and travel the world in order to learn as much as she can about different cultures along the way. Amal enjoys exploring museums and trying out new things.

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Pollination trail

Explore kew’s landscape with our pollination trail and discover the connections between plants and pollinators..

Pollination is one of our planet’s most important biological processes.

Pollinators, such as bees, wasps and hoverflies, transfer pollen grains from the male to female parts of plants and as a result new seeds are produced, and the natural world can flourish. Kew Gardens provides a home to many species of pollinators and supports a number of researchers studying various aspects of pollinator biology and behaviour.

Walking distance

• Approx 1 km
• 20-30 minutes 

Download the pollination trail map.

Discover more trails at Kew

From the perfect first date to seasonal family activities, get the most out of your visit to Kew with our tailored trails.

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Best Places to Visit Kew Gardens, London – How To Reach, Best Time & Tips

Last Updated: October 6, 2022

The Kew Gardens in London brings you the world of science and technology behind creating one of the most beautiful botanical collections. It is spread lavishly over 330 acres of tropical oasis, featuring 50,000 living plants. This timeless garden is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with several rare and beautiful flower species and dangerous carnivorous plants housed within a temperature-controlled Victorian glass greenhouse. This amazing collection of flora and fungi at Kew Gardens London is one of the most biodiverse places on planet Earth.

The rich history of the Kew Gardens

The 18th-century classic Kew Gardens were part of the various estates belonging to the royal family. With the help of Princess Augusta, the first botanical garden was incepted with the assistance of architects, Sir William Chamber and Lord Bute. King George III combined his estates of Richmond and Kew in 1802, with the assistance of Sir Joseph Banks and William Aiton, who helped to landscape the estate into a beautiful, well-designed garden.

In 1840, the ownership was transferred to the government due to negligence and ignorance for several years. This led it to remain as a national botanical garden. William Hooker became the first director, and John Smith the first curator. Today, Kew Gardens houses the Palm House, the most critical Victorian glass and iron structure worldwide, and the Temperature House, the largest Victorian glasshouse existing to date. In 2003, UNESCO recognized and named it a World Heritage Site.

How to reach Kew Gardens, London?

• Bicycles – Kew Gardens has four bicycles at all its four gates. You can leave the bikes at the gates but at your own risk. Bicycles, roller skates, scooters, tricycles, and skateboards are not allowed inside.
• Bus – Route 65, Route 110, and Routes 237 and 267 will take you to Kew Gardens
• Boat – There are special boat services as part of Thames River Boats from Westminster Pier to Kew Pier. The Elizabeth Gate is just 0.2 miles from the Kew Pier across Kew Green.
• Car – Limited parking is provided on a first-come, first serve basis. You can drive down to Kew Gardens or take a cab to reach here.
• Train – Southwest trains run from Waterloo via Vauxhall and Clapham Junction to the Kew Bridge station, which is only 800 meters away from the Elizabeth Gate.
• Tube – Take a tube in Zone 3 served by District Line and London Overground until the Kew Gardens station, which is only 500 meters away from Victoria Gate.

Best time to explore the Kew Gardens

• The spring season running from April to May, brings new blooms that are spectacular and soothing to the eye.
• The summer season, from June to August, brings the best views where the trees and flowers are in the best shape.
• The autumn season will see a lesser crowd, but the gardens are not at their blooming best even though it thrives inside the temperature-controlled greenhouse.
• The winter season is an absolute no for visiting Kew Gardens.

Top things to uncover at Kew Gardens

This gorgeous geometric structure stands 17 m tall and provides a serenading and calming symphony of cello and vocals in the form of a C key that creates an auditory and visual experience of being inside an actual beehive. 1000+ LED lights glow to create bee vibrations, and with the help of 17,000+ aluminum parts, the structure recreates the visual effects inside an actual beehive.

Built- in 1631 for silk merchant Samuel Fortrey, this Dutch house is the smallest palace in the country. It has a Kew Palace complex, a former brewhouse, a kitchen, and a housekeeper’s cottage. The entire structure is open to the public except for the kitchen. King George II and Queen Caroline lived here in the 1720s, which later became a refuge for King George III while he faced mental issues. There are several untold tales about the royal family that you can uncover here.

Great Pagoda

This chinoiserie-style building with its curved roofs and Chinese Chippendale railings was designed by Swedish-Scottish architect and designer Sir William Chambers in the 18th century. Built as a gift to Princess Augusta, (who had employed him to reconstruct several new features in the garden), this destination gives a beautiful panoramic view of London and houses exhibits on the building’s rich history.

This destination houses an exquisite and unique collection of extinct and endangered plants, including the African oil palm and the cocoa tree. Incepted in 1844, this greenhouse was designed to resemble an upturned ship hull as the ideas were borrowed from the shipbuilding industry while constructing it. The lush green plants thrive in the humid environment created. Do not miss the oldest pot plant, almost 250 years old.

Queen Charlotte’s Cottage

This rustic retreat is a 17th-century classic where the royal family used to rest, have picnics, and enjoy tea while visiting the gardens. Several exotic animals such as black swans, buffaloes, now extinct quagga, and the first kangaroo that arrived in the country were housed in the paddock earlier. Explore the Queen’s personal collection of Hogarth prints and the bamboo and floral artwork by the Queen’s daughter housed here.

The Temperature Glasshouse

It is home to the rarest, unique, and threatened temperate plants, including six rare and almost extinct species and on the endangered list already. This is the largest surviving Victorian glasshouse spread over 4,880 sqm, standing proudly 19 meters high.

Waterlily House

Surrounded by a circular pond, 10 meters in diameter, it is among the iconic and second oldest glasshouses at Kew Gardens. This was created primarily to breed a giant Amazon waterlily named Victoria amazonica. Several floating Santa Cruz waterlilies in the pond grow to almost 2 meters in size. You will be able to spot blooming Lotus and papyrus plants during the summer season here.

Xstrata Treetop Walkway

This stands among the key highlights at Kew Gardens, offering a beautiful view of the forest canopy from the top. Standing proudly at 18 meters tall and 200 meters long, this walkway is designed for the ones who love the adrenaline rush as it sways with the wind while offering an immersive experience through its foliage.

Other popular attractions

Other popular attractions you can explore are the Davies Alpine House and the Princess of Wales Conservatory.

Venue address and opening times

Kew Gardens in London is placed at Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, Surrey, TW9 3AB. Kew Gardens London is open from 10 am to 6 pm, with the last entry scheduled one hour before the closing time. Each season has a different closing time.

• 1st -30th September 2022 till 7 pm
• 1st -29th October 2022 till 6 pm
• 30th Oct – 15th Nov 2022 till 4 pm
• 16th Nov – 8th Jan 2023 till 3 pm
• 9th Jan – 31st Jan 2023 till 4 pm
• 1st – 28th Feb 2023 till 5 pm
• 1st – 31st Mar 2023 till 6 pm

Gardens will be closed on 24th & 25th December in accord with Christmas.

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Sreedevi Nair

Passionate about travel and reading, Sreedevi believes these two aspects molded her life. She has 9 years experience in the travel industry and loves learning new things, music and crochet.

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The 13 Most Beautiful Gardens in the World to Visit

W hether you're in the Northern Hemisphere or Southern, East or West, there's always something to see at the best botanical gardens in the world. This guide covers six of the seven continents (sorry, Antarctica), including six gardens in the United States.

What are botanical gardens exactly? Merriam-Webster defines them as gardens "often with greenhouses for the culture, study, and exhibition of special plants." The international Botanic Gardens and Plant Conservation goes a few steps further, emphasizing the purpose of scientific research and the conservation of rare and threatened plants, plus compliance with international policies and sustainability and ethical initiatives.

While the flora and fauna change from region to region-and season to season-each of these gardens offers an astonishing variety of natural and man-made wonders. These are sanctuaries of tranquility that simultaneously excite nature lovers and inspire would-be green thumbs. You don't have to be an aspiring botanist or horticulturist to enjoy a visit; these gardens boast magnificent architecture, greenhouses, fountains, wildlife, walking tours, libraries, classes, and special events, including light shows and concerts. They're also family friendly, less expensive than amusement parks, and good for your health-depending on how ambitious you are with your walking.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

• Location: Richmond, London, England
• Hours: Daily, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. (last entry 2 p.m.)
• Tickets: $13–$30 (adults), $5–$10 (children 4–15), free for children under 4

Kew Gardens (as the gardens are better known) may be the most famous botanical park in the world and not just because it's a UNESCO World Heritage site. It's considered the world's largest collection of living plants with more than 50,000 of them across 300 acres of dedicated land, including many species you'd never expect to find in England. For that, you have the climate-controlled Princess of Wales Conservatory to thank. The glasshouse (the largest Victorian one in the world) is carved into zones: One is dedicated to carnivorous plants like Venus flytraps; another to succulents and cacti; and a third is humid and tropical enough to grow Victoria amazonica , the world's largest water lilies.

The property, founded in 1759, also has a rock garden with a tiered waterfall and an arboretum with 14,000 trees, including giant redwoods and black locusts dating to the 18th century. For the ultimate immersion, head to the edge of the garden, where a 37-acre storybook forest meets the River Thames and an elevated trail snakes through a watercolorist's palette of wildflowers .

Singapore Botanic Gardens

• Location: Singapore
• Hours: Daily 5 a.m.–midnight
• Tickets: Free
• nparks.gov.sg/sbg

The Singapore Botanic Gardens is the only tropical botanic garden on the UNESCO World Heritage list and the first UNESCO World Heritage site in Singapore. The 203-acre green space, founded in 1859, welcomes millions of visitors a year, drawn to the lakeside gazebos, groves of wild fruit trees, the bonsai garden, three lakes, a small tropical rain forest, and a perfumed grouping of frangipani. There is also a healing garden with 400 types of medicinal plants.

Of special appeal is the 7.4-acre National Orchid Garden-the largest of its kind, with more than 1,000 wild species and 2,000 hybrids, organized into color zones.

You may see exotic animals as well; birds, frogs, lizards, bats, monkeys, pigs, turtles, otters, and other animals live here year-round. Note: Do not confuse this with Singapore's Gardens by the Bay , a popular , man-made, and air-conditioned environment.

Montreal Botanical Garden (Jardin Botanique de Montréal)

• Location: Montreal, Canada
• Hours: Tuesday–Sunday 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
• Tickets: $23 (adults), $21 (seniors 65+), $17 (students with ID), $12 (kids 5–17)
• espacepourlavie.ca/en/botanical-garden

The stats alone are impressive: 10 greenhouses spread over 185 acres with 22,000 species of flora-and the whole garden was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2008. On top of all that, the Montreal Botanical Garden , created in 1936, also shows creativity in its approach. There's a toxic plant garden and a garden of innovations that showcases new cultivars from the ornamental horticulture industry.

Depending on the season, visitors can explore an arboretum with 800 species of trees and shrubs, a Japanese garden with bonsai trees, a Chinese garden, and spaces dedicated to perennials, shade plants, ferns, succulents, roses, floating plants, medicinal plants, and, of course, flowers (especially irises, peonies, and lilies). What's more, it maintains more than 400 species on the list of rare or threatened plants drawn up by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). And it launched the First Nations Garden in 2001, which "presents the close bonds First Nations and the Inuit have always had with the plant world."

If you're interested in visiting the insectarium with more than 250,000 specimens (one of the largest insect museums in North America), you need a separate ticket, which includes access to other museums, including the Biosphere and Biodome .

Jardim Botânico

• Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday–Sunday 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
• Tickets: $15 (cash only)
• gov.br/jbrj/en

Rio's 350-acre Jardim Botânico was founded in 1808 by D. João VI of Portugal, prince regent (eventually king) of the United Kingdom of Brazil and Portugal. It has a reputation as one of the finest tropical gardens on Earth, bordered by the world's largest urban forest, Tijuca National Park. Of its 7,000-plus species of tropical plants, the vast majority are native to Brazil. It also has 2,000 species of orchids. And while you may see the garden's Avenue of Royal Palms surface repeatedly on Instagram, its rare bromeliads and traditional Japanese garden-including cherry trees and bonsai-are not to be missed.

Note to birders: Bring your binoculars because hundreds of species nest in this garden.

Arctic-Alpine Botanical Garden

• Location: Tromsø, Norway
• Hours: Open 24 hours, seven days a week
• en.uit.no/tmu/botanisk

The Arctic-Alpine Botanical Garden , the world's northernmost botanical garden, showcases traditional perennials and herbs from the tippy-top of Norway , plus a surprising array of plants from other continents. Part of the University of Tromsø, the garden has 25 collections in total; it specializes in Arctic and Antarctic plants (a rarity), as well as species native to the Himalayas, South America, and Africa. The garden is open year-round and free to visit, but most flowering takes place between May and October. In winter, BYO skis to experience the AABG's evergreen shrubs and snow-capped rockscapes.

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden

• Location: Kirstenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa
• Hours: 8 a.m.–7 p.m. during summer (September–March), 8 a.m.–6 p.m. during winter (April–August).
• Tickets: $12 (adults), $2 (children 6–17)
• sanbi.org/gardens/kirstenbosch

It's hard to beat a backdrop that includes Table Mountain National Park. Set in the eastern slopes of South Africa's most iconic landmark, the world-renowned Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden lives up to the hype. There are 1,305 acres with more than 7,000 species of plants, most of which are native to the Cape and southern Africa.

Located eight miles from the heart of Cape Town, and founded in 1913, the garden is blessed with postcard-worthy groupings of protea and cycads, hiking and mountain biking trails, expansive lawns for picnicking, and a 427-foot treetop walkway (informally known as "the Boomslang") that arcs gently above the arboretum's canopy.

Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney

• Location: Sydney, Australia
• Hours: Daily 7 a.m.–sunset
• botanicgardens.org.au

Australia 's oldest scientific institution-and one of the earliest botanic gardens in the Southern Hemisphere-the 74-acre Royal Botanic Garden is a dazzling mix of horticultural beauty and ecological conservation. Founded in 1816 and located on Sydney Harbour, a five-minute walk from the city center, it houses a collection of more than 27,000 plants from around the world, organized into 15 themed gardens. They include an air succulent garden, a tropical garden, an Australian rain forest garden, and one of the largest green walls you'll ever see.

Unique to this institution is the Cadi Jam Ora–First Encounters Garden , which explores the relationship between plants and people; it's located on the site where the Cadigal (an Aboriginal cultural group) and European settlers first met in January 1788. An online map offers an overview of the Victorian-era buildings, statuary, fountains, and monuments that dot the landscape.

New York Botanical Garden

• Location: Bronx, New York
• Hours: Tuesday–Sunday and Monday federal holidays 10 a.m.–6 p.m
• Tickets: $35 (adults 13+), $31 (seniors 65+), $31 (students with ID), $20 (children 2–12)

The Bronx's best-known National Historic Landmark was established in 1891 by botanists Nathaniel Lord Britton and his wife, Elizabeth. Inspired by a visit to Kew Gardens in England (see above), the couple founded their own botanical paradise on the north side of Bronx Park, close to an old-growth forest (the Thain Family Forest) and the babbling Bronx River. With 250 acres of land, this picturesque green space-known as the New York Botanical Garden -is the largest city-based botanical garden in the United States. Its 50 specialty gardens feature more than a million plants and 12,000 species, including lilacs and magnolias.

Highlights of any visit include a stroll through the circa-1890 Victorian-style glasshouse Haupt Conservatory, the impressive northeastern North American native plant garden, and what is widely considered one of the world's most sustainable rose gardens. For plant nerds, there is also the Mertz Library, the largest botanical research library in the USA and the first library whose collection focused exclusively on botany.

Missouri Botanical Garden

• Location: St. Louis, Missouri
• Hours: Daily 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
• Tickets: $14 (adults 13+)
• missouribotanicalgarden.org

Established in 1859 by merchant Henry Shaw, this National Historic Landmark is America's oldest botanical garden still in continuous operation. Its 79-acre spread is best known for the Climatron, a geodesic-dome greenhouse with a rain forest–like climate, dense tropical foliage, and a river aquarium teeming with fish. More than 2,800 plants grow inside, including cacao and coffee.

The institution has earned international acclaim for its comprehensive botanical reference library and herbarium with more than 6.5 million mounted specimens (the second-largest in the USA). Other notable draws include the 14-acre Japanese strolling garden, one of the oldest in the nation, and an 8,000-square-foot glass butterfly conservatory housing more than 60 species of winged beauties and 100 species of exotic flowering plants.

Desert Botanical Garden

• Location: Phoenix, Arizona
• Hours: October–April daily 8 a.m.–8 p.m.
• Tickets: $30 (adults), $17 (kids 3–17)

Snuggled into the dusty red rocks of the Papago Buttes Park, the 140-acre Desert Botanical Garden has more than 50,000 arid plants and 4,482 species in its unique collection. Of those, 379 species are rare and endangered.

Founded in 1939, the garden has gotten creative with its programming, offering desert landscaping classes for homeowners and five themed hiking trails that are especially nice for families. It's not just a trove of succulents and cacti, either. There's also a desert wildflower garden dedicated to brightly colored blooms and the pollinators they attract, like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

You can get a sense of history here, too. Travel along the Sonoran Desert Nature Loop to learn how the region's Tohono O'odham and Western Apache people used native plants.

Longwood Gardens

• Location: Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
• Hours: Wednesday–Monday 10 a.m.–5 p.m. (March 30–May 8 until 6 p.m.)
• Tickets: $30 (adults 19+), $27 (seniors 62+ and students with ID), $23 (military/veteran), $16 (kids 6–18)
• longwoodgardens.org

Longwood has a rich history, starting with the native Lenni Lenape tribe, which fished, hunted, and planted on the 1,077-acre estate for thousands of years. In 1906, wealthy entrepreneur Pierre S. du Pont bought the land and started to build his own gardens, one by one, drawing heavily on recent visits to renowned gardens in Europe.

He was especially impressed with fountains at the time; he had seen the majestic water pumps at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. So Longwood, naturally, has plenty of them-hundreds. Over decades, Longwood has added a conservatory, a plant nursery, an experimental greenhouse, a desert house, 13 outdoor water lily pools, a meadow garden, tree houses, tropical plants, a plant-breeding program, and a visitor center with a shop, auditorium, and 1,000-car parking lot.

In the fall of 2024, the garden will be unveiling what it is calling "a sweeping reimagination of 17 acres of the Conservatory and grounds."

Chicago Botanic Garden

• Location: Chicago, Illinois
• Hours: 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
• Tickets: $10–$15 (adults 13+), $10–$12 (children 3–12), children under 3 are free; the garden offers occasional free days, check its calendar
• chicagobotanic.org

Depending on the season (and which exhibits are on view), visitors at the Chicago Botanic Garden can enter a habitat filled with live butterflies, admire 26 replicas of roadside attractions in the Model Railroad exhibit, or take in the 385 acres of nature and beauty while seated on a free tram tour .

What kinds of gardens will you find? There's a rose garden, a fruit and vegetable garden, a world-class bonsai collection, and more than 200 dwarf trees, including evergreens, maples, and magnolias. The kaleidoscope of color is spread across nine islands and six miles of lakeshore. To explore what's in bloom when you visit, download the interactive plant-locating app and take one of the offered walking tours .

The Huntington Botanical Gardens

• Location: San Marino, California
• Hours: Wednesday–Monday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
• Tickets: $25–$29 (adults), $21–$24 (seniors 65 and students 12–18 or full-time with ID), $13 (children 4–11), children under 4 free
• huntington.org

Located 12 miles from downtown Los Angeles , the Huntington is a fantastic, massive campus that sits on 130 acres, boasting more than 83,000 living plants. It's impossible to see everything in one day. Some of the themed gardens are so spectacular that you could visit just for that collection. The desert garden, for example, is one of the largest outdoor collections of cacti and succulents in the world and includes more than 5,000 species of desert plants. Among the striking specimens, seek out the boojum trees ( Fouquieria columnaris ).

The grounds also have gardens dedicated to different types of plants (roses, herbs, palm trees) as well as nations (Australia, China, Japan), plus lily ponds and a mausoleum. You want a cool selfie in nature? You could shoot a month's worth of content here in a day.

This article was originally published in 2019 and most recently updated on January 3, 2024 with current information.