The glorious spring at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

  The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, or also known as Kew Gardens, is the world's largest collection of living plants. It makes a good half day or day trip from London, a break from the concrete city if you are already tired of statues and buildings and galleries and museums. People like me who likes to poke around every nook and corner will take almost whole day here because Kew Garden really has a lot to offer, even if you are not a botany enthusiast. And it's really, really huge... 121 hectares of land.

Palm house. Hot and humid.

The lake across the Museum. The ducks are pretty tame, they'll come over when you stand by the bank.

Waterlily house, also hot and humid. Said to be the most humid and hottest.

One of the paths going to Princess of Wales Conservatory, through Woodland Garden.

Plant family beds, where neat patches are grouped under their family types.

The Rock Garden with all sorts of pretty tiny flowers.

Secluded Garden, area of peace and quiet.

 Take the hop - on - hop - off Kew explorer train, pretty worth it if you want to have a look at the whole garden. It has an amusing running commentary and takes about 40 minutes for the whole round.

 

It's educational. It's pretty. A good picnic spot. And if you apply for the membership you have unlimited access for a year, which I think is pretty worth it if you are a London resident.

Getting there: Kew Gardens Station (Underground District Line heading to Richmond) is the closest London Underground station, and is in zone 3. You may need to change train at the Earl's Court station if you are taking a random District line. On getting out from the station, cross the overhead bridge and you'll get along just fine after that because it's a straight road ahead and signboards are available. Just don't get distracted by the cute shops and cafes.

Tickets: GBP 14.50 (A)
Kew - explorer land train: GBP 4.50 (A) / GBP 1.50 (C)

Opening hours: 0930 AM - 0600 PM (dailyexcept Christmas Eve and Christmas Day)

Contact:
A: Brentford Gate, London TW9 3AB, United Kingdom
P: +44 20 8332 5655

Website: http://www.kew.org/