GREAT BRITAIN - Best of Europe 2014 - page 822

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
ofiron,glass,andtropicalplantsthatwasbuiltin1844;aWaterlilyHousethatMonetwould
swimfor;andthePrincessofWalesConservatory,amoderngreenhousewithmanydifferent
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
thatputsyouhighinthecanopy60feetabovetheground.YoungkidswilllovetheClimbers
and Creepers indoor/outdoor playground and little zip line, as well as a slow and easy ride
on the hop-on, hop-off Kew Explorer tram (£4 for narrated 40-minute ride, departs on the
hour from 11:00 from near Victoria Gate).
Cost: £14, discounted to £12 45 minutes before greenhouses close, kids under 17 free,
£5.50 for Kew Palace only.
Hours: April-Aug Mon-Fri 9:30-18:30, Sat-Sun 9:30-19:30, closes earlier Sept-
March—check schedule online, palace closed Nov-March, last entry to gardens 30 minutes
before closing, galleries and conservatories close at 17:30 in high season—earlier off-
season, free one-hour walking tours daily at 11:00 and 13:30, Tube: Kew Gardens, boats
run April-Oct between Kew Gardens and Westminster Pier—see here , switchboard tel. 020/
8332-5000, recorded info tel. [phone], www.kew.org .
Eating: For a sun-dappled lunch or snack, walk 10 minutes from the Palm House to the
Orangery Cafeteria (£4 sandwiches, £8-12 lunches, daily 10:00-17:30, until 15:15 in winter,
closes early for events, tel. [phone], www.hrp.org.uk ).
North of London
Highgate Cemetery
Located in the tea-cozy-cute village of Highgate, north of the city, this Victorian cemetery
represents a fascinating, offbeat piece of London history. Built as a private cemetery, this
was the fashionable place to bury the wealthy dead in the late 1800s. It has themed mauso-
leums, professional mourners, and several high-profile residents in its East Cemetery, in-
cluding Karl Marx, George Eliot, and Douglas Adams. The tomb of “Godfather of Punk”
Malcolm McLaren (former manager of the Sex Pistols) is often covered with rotten veggies.
Cost and Hours: East Cemetery—£3, Mon-Fri 10:00-17:00, Sat-Sun 11:00-17:00,
closes one hour earlier in winter, last entry 30 minutes before closing; older, creepier West
Cemetery—viewable by £7 guided tour only, Mon-Fri at 14:00—arrive by 13:45, Sat-
Sun hourly 11:00-15:00, call ahead to reserve; Tube: Archway (Northern Line/High Barnet
branch) or—slower—bus #C2 from Victoria Station or Oxford Circus, tel. [phone],
www.highgate-cemetery.org .