Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

A haven in the city, with a lovely cafe and little gift shop to boot :-)

just beautiful

Ok whats not too love? its great for chilln on a nice sunny day and the cafe there is great! all we need now is a sunny day!!

One of the most beautiful places in Edinburgh! Go for a walk, forget about all your problems and feel bliss in this magical garden. You can enjoy its beauty all year round and participate in Royal Botanic Garden exhibitions which provide educational information for people in every age. You can also sit down on a bench and listen sounds of nature.
The entrance is free, however if you want to see what hides glasshouse you will have to pay – no matter what – it´s worth to pay.
Perfect place for weekends for whole families, good for children!!!!!

we went on a nice april day had a long lunch in the posh restaurant (ie NOT the cafe at the east gate). it was DELICIOUS and couldn't be faulted: good staff, attentive, lovely food beautifully prepared and presented. have the beef and mash main course - to die for

Great walk on a Sunday with the Kids! Nature can be fun. Highly recommend!

The Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh is one of the world’s oldest, and the second oldest in Britain after Oxford. It is a fabulous place to visit to unwind, and the famous rock garden is sublimely beautiful.

History

Founded originally as a physic garden (to grow medicinal plants) in 1670, it has moved twice; first in 1763 to Leith, and in 1820 to its present location on Inverleith Row. Three additional sites across Scotland have since been added at Benmore (1929), Logan (1969) and Dawyck (1978).

As well as being a major botanic garden with some 15,000 living species, the site at Inverleith Row houses extensive research facilities and a substantial botanical research library, as well as a large herbarium of some 3 million dried specimens.

The garden

The main garden on Inveleith Row – also known as ‘the Botanics’ – comprises 70 acres of landscaped gardens and an arboretum, a mile north of the city centre. There are three glasshouses open to the public: the original Tropical Palm House, opened in 1834; the beautiful and impressive Temperate Palm House, opened as an extension in 1862, and 70ft (22m) high; and the striking and large modern glasshouse, opened in the 1960s and, at the time, one of the most innovative designs of its type.

Of the gardens, the top attraction is undoubtedly the famous Rock Garden, which grows alpine plants in a hill-top setting with rocks, an extensive network of paths, a waterfall and a stream. It is beautifully landscaped and, with around 5,000 plant species, regarded by many as the best of its type in the world.

Also impressive is the herbaceous border, which is 165m long and is backed by a beech hedge which is made up of 150 individual trees, now over 100 years old. A newer addition was the Chinese Hillside, created in 1993 and opened formally by Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997. Its collection of 16,000 indigenous Chinese plants is the largest outside China. Finally, reflecting its location, there is a Scottish Heath Garden with a wide range of heathers in a naturalistic setting.

The site also includes a small privately operated art gallery (in Inverleith House).

Practicalities

Entrance is free to the gardens: there is a charge for the glasshouses.

There are entrances on Inverleith Row (East Gate) and Arboretum Row (West Gate). The main public buildings are now contained in the new John Hope Gateway centre by the West Gate. This includes areas for displays and exhibitions, an excellent botanical shop and plant sales area, toilets, a restaurant and information centre.

There is a coffee bar at the East Gate and the Terrace café in the centre of the gardens, which provides excellent views.

Buses 8, 23 and 27 stop close to the East Gate on Inverleith Row. Car parking is limited to metered on-street parking around the site, but there are dedicated disabled parking bays at the John Hope Gateway (West Gate) on Arboretum Place.

All buildings and major areas of the Garden are accessible to wheelchairs. Wheelchairs are available for loan at the Garden entrances and a self-driven electric cart is available by prior appointment. Both the John Hope Gateway and Terrace Café have disabled toilets.

Dogs are not allowed, except for Guide Dogs.

I've never been much of a gardens person, but my brother insisted so I went with him. I was really surprised how much I got into it. Reading through the reviews below I realize this has been said a million times, but they are worth a visit!

Ok so everyone has reviewed the Royal Botanic Gardens but they are really beautiful so why not.

A really gorgeous spot in summer and theres heaps of little areas that you can sit in without having to sit right next to someone because of all the flora and fauna theres lots of little pockets which is nice, just be careful of bees!

It does get quite busy in summer though with families and little kids everywhere but its a gorgeous spot to take the sunday papers, if you can get in the gate! Seriously... it seems to be a bit of a secret just finding the gate but it is beautiful in here so if you've not been what are you waiting for? Ok sun, thats true this is Scotland but when that happens... get yourself down there - also its free! so why wouldnt you

One of the top sights of Edinburgh, the Royal Botanic Gardens are well kept and sign-posted for visitors. They are a favourite destination for children and pets too. I went to the Gardens a week ago and saw the most beautiful black and white cat with pink nose. On a bad day though, when the weather is a bit rainy or snowy, the visitors' centre will offer lots of comfort, fascinating exhibitions and activities for your children while you are enjoying refreshments at the cafe inside. My Italian students last year claimed that they tasted the best Italian cappuccino there!

In winter and summer you can hop off from the bus. In winter the daylight hours are less. It is cold and you need to wrap up and enjoy the structure of the hardy flora.

Visit it every season if you are fortunate enough to be in Edinburgh.

It s a very nice free park to go when it s sunny! you can have a rest and a peacful time. There are many flowers and specific beautiful specific trees. I recommend you recommend strongly to go. You can go by bus, it will let you just in front of the entry.

A fantastic place to go, especially when there’s good weather and it’s free to go in!

I went recently to sun bathe on a very hot day and while it was busy, we were still able to find a spot to lie down where we weren’t too close to other people. There’s some beautiful flowers and it’s nice to just walk around. The Queen Mother garden is a highlight for me as it’s so lovely.

There’s a huge queue for ice cream when it’s warm though and the cafe can be very expensive but I suppose they have to make money! A good thing to notice though is that just after the check-out part of the cafe there is free water and ice which could help save a lot of money on drinks.

Beautiful gardens in a really nice part of Edinburgh. We wandered over a few weeks ago after the Taste Festival in Inverleith Park so it was beautiful weather. Only saw about a quarter of the gardens and its a place that you could keep on going back to at various times of the year and see different things. With free entry it also compares favourably with its more illustrious coutnerpart at Kew!

Beautiful Botanical Gardens near the centre of Edinburgh. It is free to get into the gardens.

The Botanical Gardens are massive, and you could spend hours walking around here looking at all the plants and trees.

There are a few large greenhouses to look around too with more tropical plants inside.

There are benches to sit on, or you could just sit on the grass. In Summer there are lots of people here relaxing in the sun.

There is also a gift shop selling Botanical Garden merchandise and other goodies!

There is also a large lake that has lots of ducks on it, which I really like looking at.

The botanic gardens in Edinburgh is a lovely place to just spend a bit of time. On a nice day the gardens are full of people enjoying the sunshine. However its also lovely visiting on a crisp winter day and seeing the frost and snow on the trees. There are also the big greenhouses that you can visit and see the more tropical plants. Its also a nice place to spot the wildlife with lots of birds although you also get pigeons and squirrels. There is a cafe for refreshments too.

One of my favourite places in the city, a visit is never a waste of time. It caters to all age groups: my grandparents used to take us there every week when we were younger and go for a walk on sundays by themselves. Must see areas include the rock garden (which has the dual benefits of being beautiful but also great for hide and seek, although the wardens aren’t such big fans of this use, the Chinese Pringle garden, the Queen Mother memorial garden and the café. Ideally situated as the route into town is at one end and inverleith park and the ice cream van are at the other. Of course the squirrels, pigeons and various other birds are around too, if you prefer more mobile aspects of nature :)

This is a wonderful pace to chill out and relax. I only live five minutes walk away so am a frequent visitor. A great selection of plants tree shrubs etc. The hothouses are great if the weather outside gets a bit nippy.

Beautiful place to dream the day away. It has a great library too for botanists, gardeners, herbalists etc. Wonderful place to enjoy time meditating alone or quality time catching with friends. Often fantastic exhibitions on. The glasshouses are a great place to warm up out of the wind and cold.