Kew Gardens

Unbeleafably beautiful!
There’s so much to discover within London only (and MASSIVE) botanical gardens. From the orchid house to the waterlillies pond, the tulip beds and the tropical and succulent greenhouses, Kew Gardens changes with the seasons, making it an all-​year round must-​visit!

Beautiful of course and as expected. The Canadian geese just had ducklings so they’re especially cute and they don’t mind you getting near them.
It’s disappointing that the greenhouses close earlier and we didn’t know. Also the bathrooms are alright but not kept clean which I was surprised by.

A spectacular garden of beauty, awe and wonder. Despite visiting in early spring, this place was still beautiful. You could simply spend hours in this place as it is so huge. The orchids were my favourite and the Palm House as you can see so many different varieties of exotic plants. There is even a mini aquarium under the the palm house so you can see exotic and strange fish — an aquarium in a botanical garden, who would have thought?!
If you are new to Kew, I thoroughly recommend getting the Kew Explorer (a land train that stops at various locations around the park) to get your bearings. It costs £5 for a ticket and it operates on a hop-​on/​hop-​off service so it’s value for money. The driver also offers a commentary so you find out even more about the gardens.
In summer this is probably even more beautiful with everything in full bloom, so I shall have to go back and visit again.

Thank goodness for orchids! I really love them so when I saw that there was a whole festival dedicated to the beautiful flowers I had to go. Thank goodness for Unilocal too as I would have probably thought an hour would be enough but someone said how you need do much longer than that.
I had a day off so packed my camera, snacks and put on my comfy shoes (thanks to a Unilocaler for that tip too). I booked my ticket online as it’s £1 cheaper and luckily you don’t have to print the ticket, I could just show it on my phone at the gate.
I got there just before 12pm and didn’t leave until nearly 5pm. In the spring or summer I can imagine spending the whole day there when it’s warmer and more plants are flowering outside.
Going on a Friday in late winter was great as it meant there weren’t many crowds to contend with. There were a couple of school groups but even the greenhouses are big enough to keep out of their way.
The Orchid festival is on each year and finished at the start of March, but I highly recommend it in the future. I’ve never seen so many varieties and colours of orchids and the displays were superb. This year the theme was Brazilian carnival and it didn’t disappoint with vibrant colours and fun displays. At times I didn’t know where to look as there was so much going on. I had a lot of fun with my camera.
I hadn’t realised how big Kew Gardens were and how much I would enjoy everything else other than the orchids. I didn’t make it to every corner but walked a considerable distance around a lot of it.
There are so many things to see and beautiful places to sit and enjoy the calm and quiet. You wouldn’t think you were so close to the hustle and bustle of London, except for the planes flying overhead frequently.
I really want to go back to see the bluebells when they’re out and when the trees have leaves and more plants are flowering. It must also be different but still gorgeous in the autumn when the leaves are turning.
So glad I’ve discovered this gem. I thought it was pricey at £14 (online, £15 on the gate) but you get so much for that and it really is a whole day out so good value.

I’ve been many times to Kew, at different times and seasons. It’s always fantastic with beautiful plants and flowers in the summer, and their amazing light displays in the winter.

Great place to have a day off from busy London! It contains a cool Japanese pagoda and garden. A good variety of plantation and birds. The café and shop are great! Me and my fiancé loved it so much that we bought a whole year membership!

Wowee. I love Kew and I love Christmas so was so excited to go to Christmas at Kew this year with my best friend.
We booked a 7pm slot on a saturday (the earlier slots do sell out early December so make sure you get in early) and turned up at our allotted time. There was no queue so it was easy to get straight in which was great.
Me being me we headed straight for the food.
Their café was open (of which the food looked good) but they also had some food vans serving festive cakes, mulled wine and pulled pork baps with a festive twist (bacon, stuffing and cranberry). The baps were delicious and the mulled wine warmed us up as we wandered around.
The trail itself took us about 1 hour 30 to mooch around but could be done quicker if you don’t take 1000’s of photos (but the lights were so pretty!).
There is so much going on including beautiful light displays, toasting your own marshmallows, free tea and singing holly bushes.
It is well worth the visit of £16 and I can’t wait to go back again next year!

I came here for the Christmas light display, and it was really fun. Such a fun night out, and super family friendly.
Whats better than walking around with mulled wine whilst looking at fairy lights in the trees and gardens of Kew.
Some of the installations were a little crowded, but that is to be expected when they have so many people go through each night.
I’d love to go back to Kew Gardens and actually see it in the day light. It looks really pretty and well kept.
Parking is a little challenging, so public transport might the best way to visit.

Si jamais vous êtes là pour un peu plus d’un week-​end, n’hésitez surtout pas à visiter ce magnifique parc.
C’est un peu cher (15£) mais vous pouvez facilement y passer la journée donc vous n’êtes pas perdant. Il y a des millions de choses à voir en plus des innombrables oiseaux, écureuils, arbres, fleurs…
1. Les serres sont superbes pour commencer. La Temperate House était en travaux mais on a pu visiter la Palm House et le Princess of Wales Conservatory. La première est immense, pleine de plantes/​fleurs exotiques et dispose d’un balcon afin d’observer toutes ces beautés d’un point élevé. Très jolie structure et petit espace aquarium en dessous (tortues, poissons, méduses…). La deuxième propose toutes sortes de cactus, de plantes aquatiques, sèches, carnivores…
2. Le Kew Palace (briques rouges) est charmant avec son «petit» jardin botanique où chardons géants se partagent l’espace avec plein d’autres plantes aromatiques.
3. Sinon il y a aussi le Treetop Walkway, sorte de passerelle avec vue panoramique en hauteur sur tout le parc. J’ai cru mourir tout en haut, peur du vide oblige. Et aussi parce que la plateforme, bien que solide, oscille légèrement (et oui en haut on le voit/​ressent très très bien).
4. Le Queen Charlotte Cottage, maison de campagne tout en brique et bois est très jolie mais bien cachée. Il faut chercher dans les bois en suivant des petits chemins sans panneaux de direction.
Et sinon vous avez aussi La Pagode, grande tour de construction type pagode chinoise. La Minka House et les jardins autours avec bambou ou rhododendrons (venir au printemps sinon il n’y a pas de fleurs). Ou les jardins japonais, la Davies Alpine House, le Duke’s Garden…
Bref des centaines de belles choses à voir et à prendre en photos.

My FAVORITE natural spot in London. If you have a spare day you’ve got to make your way out here. I made the mistake of thinking I could see the entire place in 3 hours and that would be enough. Please — don’t make the same mistake I did. The gardens are ENORMOUS. So big they have their own little shuttle to travel around. You could spend the entire day here, it’s a great place to take photos. If you don’t care too much about flowers and what not you could probably get through it in 4 – 5 hours. It’s a lot of walking though.
{WHAT NOT TO MISS}
1. Treetop Walkway — You’re taken up above the trees for a fantastic view. Not for those who are scared of heights though. The walkways seem a bit unsturdy sometimes.
2. The Palm House/​Rose Garden — They’ve got so many fruit trees in here — bananas, starfruit. You can even walk the stairs up to take a short walk around the tiptops. AND you can even go down to see the aquatic plants (which most of the children were here for the fish cause. let’s be honest no one really cares for algae)
3. Prince of Wales Conservatory — If you love cactus there’s a ton over here.
4. Kensington Palace — This orange looking building is so gorgeous
Don’t miss out on their special events! When I was there in August they had the «Full of Spice.» which included tons of signs pointing out spice plants.

Really extraordinary place to visit, but make sure you allow a whole day for it. The gardens are more than 350 acres. If you aren’t able to walk, you can buy a ticket on a team that takes you on a 40 minute 7 stop tour. I especially liked tea at the museum house, it was amazing and well worth the price.

What can I say that hasn’t already been said of Kew Gardens? It is a haven, a beautiful day out, an inspiration. Be sure to catch one of the daily guided tours, especially when there are special programs or events going.

Quand je vivais à Londres, j’étais allée une fois à Kew Garden juste avant le printemps, et j’y suis retournée la semaine dernière, sous un soleil de plomb. Bön plan: un de mes amis a une carte à l’année, il peut donc y emmener des personnes de son entourage (jusqu’à 3 il me semble) gratuitement !
Alors, Kew Gardens c’est évidemment une très belle découverte pour moi. Dès la sortie du train, les maisons aux alentours, et les petits salons de thé mignons donnent le ton. Ces jardins royaux sont sublimes, les serres sont magnifiques, les fleurs, arbres, et bâtiments ont une histoire et beaucoup d’âme.
J’y ai mangé une crêpe salée en plein milieu du parc, dans un petit food truck tenu par un français d’ailleurs, à 5£ tout de même, mais très réussie.
Et la boutique de Kew Gardens est complètement dingo. C’est beau, très british dans le sens où les objets vendus là bas sont charmants, raffinés et ont tous une petite touché «campagne anglaise».
Bref, c’est vraiment un lieu à voir si vous êtes de passage à Londres !

How could I have missed this magical Wonderland in the 2.5 years I’ve lived in London?! If you haven’t already been to Kew Gardens please go now. And wear trainers or super comfy shoes. There’s a little tram that you can take for £4.95 but we walked instead and my feet are tired! Converse squished my toes all day. Loved the gorgeous water lilies, the treetop bridge walk, and pretty much everything.

There no doubt that this is one of the greatest gardens of its type in the world. The English have the right weather and expertise to create a heaven on earth like this. In my home in Boston I was not able coax perennials to perform the way they do here and there is something that makes roses grow in perfect abundance as well. The layouts and designs at Kew are wonderful. The organisation manages botanic gardens at Kew in Richmond upon Thames in southwest London, and at Wakehurst Place, a National Trust property in Sussex which is home to an internationally important Millennium Seed Bank. The Seed Bank is also the site of multiple research projects and international partnerships with at least 80 countries. Seed stored at the bank fulfils two functions: it provides an ex situ conservation resource and also facilitates research around the globe by acting as a repository for seed scientists. Kew also operates, jointly with the Forestry Commission, Bedgebury Pinetum in Kent, which specialising in growing conifers.
Sadly they are replanting the Broad Boarder, but there were other spectacular boarders to see.
Spectacular!!!

Kew is a great reward after braving the week-​end problems of the District line. We thought we’d visit the grounds, but it turns out there are plenty of things to do we simply were not aware of: climbing the pagoda, barefoot walk, and visiting the greenhouses… We did visit the botanical museum, which was right on theme. At the moment they feature delicate drawings of plants, and the permanent exhibit dedicated to a little-​known Victorian painter is fascinating.
We loved lounging by the waterlilies pond and going around the redwoods trees. The bamboo gardens were a bit of a let down since we imagined we’d be facing a forest, not tufts of bamboo. The rhododendrons are worth seeing, if only for their size. I’d say visit the Royal palace versus the cottage, which doesn’t include much. The grounds are so immense that you can always feel by yourself walking around, even on a Sunday morning. If you want to truly make the best of the gardens, come very early, bring your lunch, and spend a solid 7-​hour day there, you won’t run out of things to see, or places to go.

It was such a lovely and warm day when I went to Kew Gardens with the boyfriend. The sun was shining and the day was great!
Kew Gardens is huge, it took us 6 hours to get around and we actually found it very interesting. There are so many different pretty plants and some strange looking ones too, we went into the tropical greenhouse, done the treetop walk, climbed up the many many stairs of the pagoda and done the barefoot walk as well as a few other bits.
Firstly, I really would not recommend going up the pagoda if you are unfit, we really struggled to get to the top and there seemed like an infinite number of stairs to climb and to be honest, the views weren’t that great when we got up there as the windows could do with a clean.
The barefoot walk was my favourite! I’m a person who loves taking my shoes off so this was right up my street! There are different materials and texture of stone, sand, wood and mud to walk through and I loved feeling all these different feels and sensations on the bottom of my feet. There are taps at the end to wash your feet at.
I would like to come back here in the future, would recommend to anyone who hasn’t been yet to go.

Pretty, well-​maintained, expansive grounds with some lovely old structures make Kew Gardens a great place for a day trip on a sunny weekend.
The location is a bit of a trek from central, and there is an admission fee (which feels particularly steep in comparison to all the free museums in London). However, I do think it’s worth a visit.
The conservatories house lots of interesting plants, some introduced with informative placards. I found the buildings themselves to be as fascinating as, if not more so, than the plants.
The orchid show is beautifully arranged, I do recommend checking it out.
For art lovers, there is an early Henry Moore sculpture in the middle of the grounds.
There are also some small attractions for children.
Would love to go back in the spring!

Very lovely day out and would recommend anyone to go if they get a free weekend. It is quite pricey to get in so maybe just visit once rather than every weekend! You also can’t take dogs in which is a shame.
I heard they no longer receive funding from the government (or at least not as much!) so that may explain their hefty ticket prices! Unfortunately the tree walk was closed when I went but looked like it would be good fun!

What a picturesque amazing place!

This review is in regard to the Christmas at Kew exhibit held at Kew Gardens over the holiday period.
At £15/​adult, Christmas at Kew was, at best, a complete rip-​off. Our — my husband and my — expectation was that a section of the gardens would be decorated in Christmas tree lights. You know, strings of lights that you hang on your tree at home. This was not the case. We thought we’d enter, get a hot drink, and meander through the garden marveling at all the lights. WRONG. Wrong. Wrong.
Christmas at Kew is an exhibit of temporary metal art structures + a projected light show which runs in tandem with a water fountain show. I, honestly, don’t even know how to describe the exhibit aside from being «cheesy».
Upon entry, there is a huge space/​alien piece of art which is lit in neon colors and changes colors. Throughout the walk, there are various trees that are lit by different colored spot lights which are positioned in the ground and aimed toward the trees. I assume that the spot lights are permanent fixtures and a simple change of light bulb is all that is done to «transform» the trees into Christmas at Kew. For example, the trunk of a tree would be illuminated in the color purple. Literally, just the tree trunk, not even the branches of the tree.
There was a tunnel of lights — we called it a miniature «Fremont Street» (Las Vegas) — which was randomly placed along the footpath at some point. Toward the end of the walk, there were some iron pedestals which spit fire. My husband called them «fire farters». I admit, his description was pretty spot-​on.
In addition to the high admission fee and complete lack of Christmassy feel, another major problem with Christmas at Kew (and Kew Gardens as a whole) is that it is located directly in the flight path for arriving Heathrow flights. On the night we visited, a plane flew close overhead ever 60 – 90 seconds. After our visit, I looked at Heathrow’s website and noted that there were 34 flights that arrived during the 50 minutes we were at Kew.
Since Heathrow is only a few miles from Kew Gardens, the planes were quite close to the ground and were incredibly loud. At any point during our one hour at Kew, I could look up in the sky and see 4 – 5 planes on their decent to Heathrow. The airplane noise is why we will never visit Kew Gardens. The airplanes completely ruin the experience. How does one relax and enjoy the surroundings when there is so much jet engine noise that you are questioning if you are standing on the tarmac at one of the Heathrow terminals? Honestly? I can’t believe no prior reviewer has mentioned this!
A few other notes:
*There were huts which sold miscellaneous items such as mulled wine, nibbles, and marshmallows.
*The huts were spaced appropriately with a group at the entrance, a group about a third of the way through, and a group about two-​thirds of the way through.
*There were a few children’s rides.
*One could easily walk the entire route in less than 20 minutes.
*There was one tree that had actual chandeliers hanging from its branches. This was cool and was the only cool thing about the exhibit.
If you are thinking about visiting Christmas at Kew, save your money and go to a pub because any local pub will be decorated in a more festive way than Christmas at Kew. Or just stare at the Christmas lights on your tree at home.

Wunderschöner, wenn nicht sogar der schönste Park, im Londoner Gebiet! Lohnt immer einen Besuch!

Man muss zwar ein wenig aus London rausfahren, aber das lohnt sich! Eine wunderschöné Anlage mit Themengärten und einem imposanten Gewächshaus erwartet den Besucher. Man kann dort Stunden zubringen und wunderbar entspannen. Wer also nicht nur zum Shoppen nach London fahren möchte, für den sind die Kew Gardens auf jeden Fall zu empfehlen!

Sehr weitläufige Anlage, die Gewächshäuser sind wirklich sehenswert. Die Eintrittspreise erscheinen zwar zuerst recht teuer, aber wenn man sich genug Zeit nimmt, dann wird man sicherlich fesstellen, das der Preis gerechtfertigt ist.

etwas außerhalb der City aber absolut sehenswert! vor allem die viktorianischen Gewächshäuser

wunderschöné anlage-​egal zu welcher jahreszeit! ist leider etwas außerhalb von london, aber der besuch lohnt sich! viel grün, pflanzen, die nicht jeder botanische garten hat,… sollte man sich die zeit nehmen, um mal rauszufahren!

Als ich letztes Jahr im Winter dort gewesen bin dachte ich vorher Spazieren gehen bei einem Grad? Nein Danke!
Aber Kew Gardens ist wirklich selbst im Winter wunderschön, weil sie dann andere Pflanzen draußen haben. Ausserdem gab es für Kinder ein Kettenkarussel.
Aber man kann auch so im Winter durch Kew Gardens schlendern und die vielseitige Pflanzenwelt bewundern. Mir persönlich jedoch gefallen die vielen riesigen Gewächshäuser am besten, in jjedem andere Pflanzen und eine andere Temperatur.
Fazit: Kew Gardens sind IMMER eine Reise wert.

Absoluter Hammer! Wer es nicht erlebt hat, weiss es nicht zu schätzen. Man spürt die Jahrhunderte alte Gartenbaukunst in diesem riesigen Park. Ihr müsst im Frühling gehen, wenn alles blüht! Super schön, entspannend und erholsam!

Jardins Botânicos Reais de Kew, Royal Botanic Gardens de Kew, Jardins de Kew ou Royal Botanic Gardens de Kew, é um dos mais extensos, antigos e prestigiosos jardins botânicos do mundo. Os Kew Gardens, como em geral são conhecidos, constituem um grande complexo de jardins, arboretos e estufas situados num vasto parque localizado entre Kew e Richmond upon Thames, na periferia sudoeste de Londres. Os jardins foram desde a sua origem dirigidos por naturalistas de renome mundial, contando-​se entre os seus antigos directores botânicos célebres como William Aiton e Joseph Dalton Hooker. O actual director é Sir Peter Crane.
Video link:

Es ist wirklich so wunderschön in den Kew Gardens! Das ist auf jeden Fall eine Reise wert, wenn man mal in London ist. Am besten kommt man wohl mit U-​Bahn hin.
Der Park gliedert sich in 3 Bereiche, in jedem findet man etwas anderes. In dem einen Teil befindet sich das wunderschöné viktorianische Treibhaus, das älteste, noch existierende im Übrigen. Es sind dort Pflanzen und Gewächse zu sehen, die nirgends sonst in Europa oder gar auf der nördlichen Halbkugel zugänglich wären.
Auch wunderschön ist der japanische Garten mit der japanischen Pagode. Dort sollte man bei seinem Besuch auf jeden Fall einen Stop einlegen.
Für diesen wunderschönen und mitunter ältesten botanischen Garten der Welt, sollte man sich etwas mehr Zeit mitbringen, denn er erstreckt sich über 100 ha.
love it !!!

Kew ist wohl der schönste botanische Garten der Welt. Botanik kann richtig Spaß machen. Wo andere eine akademische Auflistung seltener unspektakulärer Pflänzchen zusammentragen, regiert hier im Südwesten Londons die Freude an der Üppigkeit und Schönheit der Natur.
Was so besonders ist? Allein die Größe des Parks ist mit 100 ha exzessiv hier kann man wirklich stundenlang nach Lust und Laune umherspazieren, über gepflegte Wege oder durch wilde Wiesen über Hügel, auf denen noch das englische Parkprinzip der weitgehend frei wuchernden Naturgewalt gilt. Dann gelangt man plötzlich zu wundersamen Zeichen der menschlichen Zivilisation: Den berühmten Gewächshäusern des 19. Jahrhunderts. Feine weiße Metallsterben türmen sich geschwungen elegant zu mehrstöckigen filigran wirkenden Gebilden, die ein wenig an die Architektur von Markthallen oder Bahnhöfen erinnern, nur unendlich feiner erscheinen und durch gewölbte Glasflächen das Licht in die rankende Welt hineinfluten lassen und sogar noch verstärken. Man denkt sofort an den legendären Crystal Palace… Der Dschungel im Inneren ist dann wohlgeordnet aber im Zusammenspiel mit den Bögen und Kuppeln ein einzigartiger Anblick.
In den bereits im 18. Jahrhundert gegründeten Gärten liegen weitere imposante Bauwerke, wie der Kew Palace (früher auch Dutch House genannt), der George III als Refugium diente — der Gute hatte anscheinend psychotische Anfälle, was damals nicht zum Rücktritt aondern zu einer königlichen Erholungstournee führte…
Die barocke Vorliebe für asiatische Exotik ließ im Park phantasievolle Bauwerke wie das Japanische Tor und die Chinesische Pagode entstehen auch sie formenreiche Ausflüge in Phantasiewelten, die einen wunderbaren Kontrast zum nebligen englischen Alltag bieten!
Kew erreicht man am besten mit der District Line (Richtung Richmond), oder mit viel Zeit auf der Themse, dort fahren Ausflugsboote von Central London aus bis nach Hampton Court (siehe dortiger Bericht) gegenüber von Kew liegt übrigens das ebenfalls sehenswerte Schloss Syon House in einem auch riesigen Park, der kaum von Touristen besucht wird — ein echter Geheimtip!
P. S.: Richmond ist natürlich in Surrey — warum Google uns nur Middlesborough anbietet ist mal wieder ein Rätsel — also bitte bei London bleiben!

A beautiful escape in the middle of London! First of all, Kew Village is absolutely adorable and so beautiful! I wanted to move there it was so sweet. And the residents there live next to the stunning Kew Gardens.
Now I’m going to start of by saying, Kew Gardens has a ridiculously unjustified entry fee. It’s £16.50 for entry, though you can choose to opt out of the voluntary donation to pay £15. I don’t think it’s worth the entry fee and I really do think it’s ridiculous they charge so much. However, there is so much to do in the gardens, it took us the whole day to get around and we didn’t even manage to get around the whole place!
There’s a pagoda which has reopened to the public after 8 years, it costs £3.50 pounds to climb to the top and you get a timed entry. There’s numerous glass houses with a variety of plants — ferns, palms, carnivorous plants etc. There’s plenty of kids activities, a tree tops walk (although I did hear a few people questioning the safety when the entire walkway started moving!). There’s also a train you can pay a few pounds to go on around the gardens. The gardens themselves are very well kept, the pond is beautiful and there are plenty of different types of flowers to see, especially if you’re there at the right time of the year.
I would maybe check it out once if you get a really nice day and are up for spending that kind of money, but if you don’t have that kind of money available, I would head to one of the free parks like St James or Hyde or Regents. They’re all beautiful as well, not quite the same with the different things to do around the place, but great green spaces for outdoor relaxing, picnics and natures beauty.