Kew Gardens

Kew Gardens is the world's most famous botanic garden and one of London's great days out in any season. The Royal Botanic Gardens grew from an eighteenth-century royal pleasure garden into a scientific institution of global importance, and today the site holds one of the largest and most diverse living plant collections anywhere, plus a herbarium and seed bank that support research around the world. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. For visitors, Kew is three hundred acres of landscape, glasshouses and architecture on the south bank of the Thames in south-west London. The Palm House, a curving Victorian structure of iron and glass, holds a steamy rainforest and is the image of Kew; climb its spiral stairs to the walkway under the roof. The Temperate House, the largest surviving Victorian glasshouse in the world, holds plants from temperate regions and reopened after a major restoration. The Princess of Wales Conservatory covers ten climate zones under one roof, from desert to tropics. Outside, the Treetop Walkway lifts you eighteen metres into the canopy, the Great Pagoda with its dragons rises over the southern lawns, and Kew Palace, the smallest royal palace, where George III spent time during his illness, opens in the warmer months. Children have their own Children's Garden, with free timed sessions that are booked on arrival or in advance. Tickets are bought online in advance and include the glasshouses. Even in winter, when the glasshouses become the main attraction and seasonal events light up the grounds, Kew is worth a day.

The gardens are big enough that a plan helps. From the Victoria Gate, near Kew Gardens station, the Palm House and its pond are a few minutes' walk, and the main lawns, the Princess of Wales Conservatory and the Waterlily House are close by. Walk south along the Pagoda Vista to the Temperate House and the Great Pagoda, then loop west toward the Treetop Walkway and the Hive, a sculptural installation inspired by bee life. The riverside and the north end hold Kew Palace, the Queen's Garden and the Kitchen Garden. A land train circles the site for anyone who prefers to ride, and there are several cafes and restaurants. Kew also stages exhibitions in its galleries and grounds; the Shirley Sherwood Gallery and the Marianne North Gallery, with its walls entirely covered in her Victorian botanical paintings, are both worth seeking out, and a large sculpture show by Henry Moore is running through the winter season.

Seasons change the experience completely. Spring brings the bluebells, magnolias and cherry blossom; summer the roses and long evenings; autumn the arboretum's colours; and winter the glasshouses and the Christmas-season light trail, which is a separate evening ticket and sells out. Travel is straightforward: Kew Gardens station is on the District line and the Overground, about thirty minutes from central London, and Kew Bridge rail station serves the main gate from the north. Parking is extremely limited, so public transport is strongly recommended.

Who should go? Garden lovers obviously, but also families, because the Children's Garden, the Treetop Walkway and the space to run make it one of the best paid days out for younger kids. Couples find it a calm, beautiful contrast to the crowds of central London. Admission costs about the same as a major attraction, and the value comes from spending a full day. It pairs with Richmond for a riverside dinner, or with Hampton Court on a separate day for a south-west London itinerary.