Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
30 minutes before closing, glasshouses close at 17:30 in high season—earlier off-sea-
son, free one-hour walking tours daily at 11:00 and 13:30, Tube: Kew Gardens, boats run
8332-5000, recorded info tel. 020/8332-5655,
www.kew.org
.
Getting There:
From the Kew Tube station, cross the footbridge over the tracks,
which drops you in a little community of plant-and-herb shops, a two-block walk from
Victoria Gate (the main garden entrance).
Visiting the Gardens:
Pick up a map brochure and check at the gate for a monthly
listing of the best blooms. Garden lovers could spend days exploring Kew's 300 acres. For
a quick visit, spend a fragrant hour wandering through three buildings: the Palm House, a
humid Victorian world of iron, glass, and tropical plants that was built in 1844; a Water-
lily House that Monet would swim for (see photo below); and the Princess of Wales Con-
servatory, a meandering modern greenhouse with many different climate zones growing
countless cacti, bug-munching carnivorous plants, and more. With extra time, check out
the Xstrata Treetop Walkway, a 200-yard-long scenic steel walkway that puts you high
in the canopy 60 feet above the ground. Young kids will love the Climbers and Creepers
