About 6 miles west of Westminster.

Nearest Underground station:

Kew Gardens (District line/London Overground)

 

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew:

Kew Gardens covers over 300 acres so it's not something that you can see in a couple of hours. You would, in fact, be lucky or extremely energetic to be able to see all of it in a couple of days. Most visitors would probably want to spend a day there particularly in view of the entry charge per person of £13.90 (Children under the age of 17 are free) in 2011 when we visited.

That charge can be moderated under some circumstances. For example you may be able to take advantage of the 2 for 1 offer which effectively reduces the charge by 50% but you should be able to show a paper travelcard for each person which is valid on the day of entry and you must have have a printed 2for1 voucher. To be acceptable the Travelcard MUST have the network rail double arrow symbol on it as shown below.



A travelcard obtained from an Underground station is NOT acceptable. More information here on the 2for1 offer.

If you are staying in London you could, for example, buy a Day Travelcard, to include zone 3, from Waterloo Station to Kew Bridge which should be valid for the offer. Journey time about a half-hour and then a 10 minute walk from Kew Bridge Station to the Main Gate. (Map)

As a matter of interest when we bought our tickets we presented the printed 2 for 1 voucher but were not asked to produce our train tickets.

There are also 'concessions' for people over the age of 60 when the entrance charge is reduced to £11.90 (in 2011). This can also be used in conjunction with the 2for1 offer.

When you buy your ticket you will be given a leaflet which includes a map of the gardens showing the paths and the various points of interest or you can view/print it online (It's a PDF so it can be enlarged when viewed).

If you can't walk very far then you may want to make use of the Kew Explorer shown below.

 

 

This takes 40 minutes to tour the gardens and includes a commentary. There is a charge but you can hop on and off throughout the day. The route it takes through the gardens is shown, in yellow, on the map referred to just above the pictures.

Nearest Tourist Information Centres:

Britain and London Visitor Centre
1 Regent Street
Piccadilly Circus
London
England
SW1Y 4XT
Fax only: 020 7808 3801
Email: blvcinfo@visitbritain.org
Web site

London Information Centre
Leicester Square
London
England
Tel: 020 729 22 333

 

Nearest Public Toilets:

In Kew Gardens