If you’re a plant aficionado, add these Best Botanical Gardens in the world in your travel list, many of them are World Heritage Sites, and you’ll not be disappointed.
1. Singapore Botanic Garden, Singapore
This 160-year old tropical garden is located at the Singapore Orchard Road shopping district. It’s surely one of the best botanical gardens in the world that spans over an area of 82-hectares with a linear distance of 2.5 km (1.6 mi). It’s open every day in the year between 5 am to 12 midnight, which makes it the only botanic garden to have this entry time. Moreover, it has more than 1200 Orchid species, a park for children, an evolution garden, a ginger garden, a rainforest, and much more.
2. Denver Botanic Gardens, USA
Denver botanic garden extends over 23-acre land at the York Street in Colorado, United States. The park consists of various theme gardens, a conservatory, and a sunken amphitheater which hosts concerts during summer. It features the most extensive collection of cold temperature plants from around the world and seven gardens that include plants from Colorado and a few other neighboring states.
The garden remains open from 6 am to 9 pm, and the last entry can be done by 8:30 pm. The entry fee structure for every age group is here.
3. Nongnooch Tropical Botanical Garden, Thailand
Nongnooch botanical garden is spread over an area of 500-acre on the Sukhumvit Road in Chonburi Province, Thailand. The garden became open to the public in 1980 and since then, have become a significant tourist attraction in Thailand. The sub-division of the total area is done into various gardens, including French garden, English garden, variegated plants, butterfly hill, flower valley, and many more.
In addition to wildlife, tourists can even experience religious ceremonies, martial art demonstrations, and elephant shows. The garden is open for tourists from 8 in the morning to 6 in the evening. The entry fee for Thai adults is 200฿ and free for kids. For all Non-Thai people, it’s 500฿.
4. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London
This World Heritage Site is situated in southwest London and surely one of the best tourist attraction in London. It covers the area of 132 hectares (330 acres) and has a collection of more than 50,000 varieties of living plants. The Kew herbarium is one of the largest in the world and has around 7 million preserved plant specimens.
The Gardens remain open all days, at 10 am and close at 7 pm (entry stops at 6 pm) from Monday to Thursday. From Friday to Sunday and on bank holidays, it closes at 8.30 pm (last entry 8 pm). *Opening time changes throughout the year, for more information, visit the official website here.
5. Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, South Africa
Kirstenbosch national botanical garden is located at the eastern slope of table mountain in cape town, South Africa. The 528 hectares area of the botanical garden includes a cultivated garden and a nature reserve. Ever since its foundation in 1913, it preserves the South African flora, and so the garden includes many rare and endangered plant species.
The garden is open throughout the year from 8 am to 7 pm in summers, and 8 am to 6 pm during winters. The garden inhabits a great variety of birds along with panoramic views. Entry for children above 6-18 and adults is R10 and R40 respectively. Children under six are free to enter the premises while South African students with a valid student card have to pay R25.
6. Brooklyn Botanic Garden, USA
An urban garden with a spread over 21 hectares of land including a garden within the garden, plant collections, and Steinhardt Conservatory. The garden encounters 900,000 visitors each year and showcases over 14,000 groups of plants. The garden’s specialty includes cherry trees, Japanese hill and pond garden, Cranford Rose garden, Shakespeare garden, Alice Recknagel Ireys Fragrance, water garden, and a few other gardens.
It’s situated in the heart of Brooklyn and represents a sense of praise for the environment. It’s open all days except for Mondays with a specific time for different days. On days between Tuesday and Friday, the visiting time is 10 am to 4:30 pm and on the weekend, from 10 am to 6 pm. The entry fee structure is:
Adults- $15
Senior Citizens(+65)- $8
Student(+12) with ID- $8
Children Under 12 and Fridays Before Noon- Free
Also Read: Vertical Garden Ideas for Urban Gardeners
7. Royal Botanic Gardens, Australia
This 74-acre garden is one of the most important historic botanical institutions in the world. It’s located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It’s division consists of four major zones namely, Lower Gardens, the Middle Gardens, the Palace Gardens, and the Bennelong. The layout of the garden especially reflects modern trends of landscaping designs.
It is one of the earliest surviving colonial botanic gardens in the world and one of the oldest and most extensive public cultural landscapes in Australia. The entry for every age group is free for all the people around the world, and it opens daily from 7 am to 6 pm.
8. Montreal Botanical Garden, Canada
Montreal botanical garden spans over an area of 74 hectares consisting of thematic garden and greenhouses. The wide variety of its collection of flora and facilities that it offers to its visitors is what makes it one of the most extensive botanical gardens in the world. The total area features four major gardens within the main area–The Alpine Garden, The Chinese Garden, The Japanese Garden, and The First-Nations Garden.
The botanical garden is a part of the Montreal Space For Life. It has a collection of more than 22,000 plant species and cultivars, 10 exhibition greenhouses, tree house, and more than 20 thematic gardens. It’s open every day with different timings–Saturday to Wednesday from 9 am to 6 pm, and 9 am to 7 pm on Thursdays and Fridays.
9. Imperial Palace East Garden, Japan
The imperial palace east garden is an important part of the imperial palace, the residence of the emperor of Japan. The Ninomaru pond has a few rare aquatic plants, and during summers, the surface of the pond features blooming Japanese spatterdock. Since it’s spacious, it attracts tourists to spend their spring evenings under the cherry blossom trees. The east garden remains the only part of the palace, which is open for the general public. Walking through the park is the most favorable thing that visitors like to do here.
Visitors can visit the garden for free on all weekdays except for Mondays and Fridays. Likewise, it remains closed on New Year’s Day or other special occasions. The opening hours are from 9 am to 4:30 pm.
10. Jardim Botânico, Brazil
