London's Best Botanical Garden Is Kew Gardens

It's well documented on this blog that botanical gardens are one of my top must-do activities any time I visit a new city. I love seeing the open green spaces and the gorgeous plants that flourish in the local climate. I spent a long weekend romping around London with my cousin, and boy, did she show me all the best spots (Thanks, Natalie!). Even though it was a little rainy and I was rather sick with a stomach bug, I had an amazing time exploring some of London's top tourist attractions, including the stunning Kew Gardens.

Why Is Kew Gardens So Famous?

Kew Gardens gets over two million visitors annually, and once you visit, you won't wonder why. As the Royal Botanical Garden of London, Kew Gardens is very well kept, stocked with some amazing plants, and filled with wonderful things to see. It's absolutely beautiful. Kew Gardens is also quite old. It was founded in 1840, but prior to that it was an exotic garden in what was called Kew Park. And Kew Park opened in 1759, so Kew Gardens is really over 250 years old.

Top 5 Sights In Kew Gardens

At 300 acres, there is plenty to see here. I would recommend at least two hours for a visit to Kew Gardens. There are over 50,000 species spread out between three main greenhouses, a number of climate-specific gardens, and an amazing arboretum with over 11,000 trees. There are also some very cool art sculptures, a treetop canopy walk, and something called the Hive that you need to check out.

1/ Princess of Wales Conservatory

I was absolutely enchanted by the Princess of Wales Conservatory. I love a greenhouse, especially the older aesthetic of Kew Gardens with the white metal and ornate design. But generally when I picture this, I imagine something more like the Palm House. This triangular design was a brand new sight, and I thought it was very cool. It was interesting to look at from both outside and inside, so a walk through the Princess of Wales Conservatory is an absolute must. Not to mention the wonderful desert plants throughout!

This greenhouse was a lot bigger than I initially thought, though on a map (scroll to the bottom of the post), you can see it does have a rather large footprint. It had some excellent waterfalls and air plants, hanging leggy plants, and just the most incredible lily pads! (I mean, not quite as big as those in the Singapore Botanical Garden) but very cool nonetheless. And look at the size of the koi underneath!

2/ The Palm House

I had to put the Princess of Wales Conservatory first on my list, but the Palm House was an easy second for its surrounding view. The building is stunning (it's the picture at the top of this post). It's centrally located very near the main entrance to Kew Gardens, at the Victoria Gate, and it's across from a lovely little pond and the Botanical Brasserie. The garden was also featuring some very unique art installations, all very shiny metal and plant-inspired shapes.

A trip inside the palm house is a must, too. There are some beautiful large trees to enjoy, and while it's a little warm, it's nothing compared to the heat trapped above you. You can walk up a gorgeous spiral staircase to the second floor where you're sure to sweat. It was balmy! Being a one-way walkway, you'll have to walk fast to get back down to the relatively cooler area.

3/ Treetop Walkway

I really enjoyed the treetop walk. It's not the longest, but it had lovely views of the gardens (Temperate House pictured below) and trees so close you could touch them. My cousin didn't appreciate the walkway's ricketiness, but I thought it seemed fairly sturdy, and I loved the design of the structure to look like trees themselves. Plus it was fully accessible with an elevator, which surely stabilized it pretty well.

4/ The Hive

This recommendation might not speak to everyone, but I found the Hive to be one of the highlights of my visit to Kew Gardens. It's a giant art installation of sorts, over 55 feet tall (17 meters), made of interlocking metal with LED lights and speakers everywhere. It's meant to show you what life is like inside a beehive, and it does it well. You can walk up to a second level (which has a glass floor), but I preferred the basement view.

Sitting underneath the whole structure, you're surrounded by a loud but not scary thrum of beehive sounds and calmed by the slowly rotating colors of the lights. It's in the middle of a peaceful wildflower meadow, and despite being a representation of a beehive, it's frequented by the local bird population. It was very meditative, and it's a great place to sit and relax for a few minutes on the long walk between attractions in Kew Gardens.

5/ The Temperate House

As seen from the Treetop Walkway, the Temperate House is the third gorgeous greenhouse that Kew Gardens has on display. Temperate House had some beautifully large trees, its own series of water features, and some hidden gems of art installations. It also had this amazing copper bonsai that looked almost real. It's a sculpture, one of a series but the only one at Kew Gardens, by artist Marc Quinn.

How to visit Kew Gardens

Kew Gardens is located in southwest London, just above the Richmond neighborhood. It's very conveniently adjacent to two underground stops on the blue line, called Kew Gardens and Richmond. You can see on this map of Kew Gardens that the underground runs along the south border of the garden.

I recommend that you get off the Kew Gardens stop first, since it's a very direct 5-minute walk from here to the main entrance to Kew Gardens, the Victoria Gate. Then, when you're finishing your tour through Kew Gardens, you can exit via the Lion Gate at the southwest corner. This will put you on Kew Road, a 15-minute walk from downtown Richmond. You can enjoy the main strip of the very charming town of Richmond before hopping back on the underground at the Richmond stop.

Kew Gardens is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm, but note that the last entrance is at 5 pm. Ticket prices vary by season and time of day and person. Standard adult tickets during the peak months is £22 online or £25 at the gate. Off-season, it's only £14 online and £16 at the gate. No matter how much your ticket ends up costing, I promise Kew Gardens is well worth the visit!