Christmas at Kew: Here's Everything You Need to Know
Royal Botanic Gardens, or most commonly known as Kew Gardens, is regarded as one of the biggest botanical gardens in the whole world. You can see the enormous and one-of-a-kind collections when it comes to botany and mycology. It is home to 14,000 trees, more than 50,000 plants, and more than 7,000,000 species being preserved.
You can never go wrong with spending your Christmas at Kew Gardens. During Christmas time, you can see all the decorations, cuisine and partake in many festivities. Even if you are by yourself or your family, I can guarantee you that you will have a memorable Christmas experience at Kew Gardens.
These are six reasons why you should celebrate Christmas this year in Kew Gardens:
Kew Gardens has beautiful lighting decorations everywhere that are aesthetically pleasing to the eyes making the garden more enjoyable to walk through.
Kew Gardens have light tunnels and flickering trail lights.
Kew Gardens has a Fire Garden, which is gleaming in flames.
Kew Gardens has a sound and light display at the Palm House.
Kew Gardens have mouthwatering treats, foods, and beverages.
Kew Gardens plays Christmas music which makes you feel the Christmas vibes.
You can checkout Brent Cross Shopping center for your shopping needs.
Kew Gardens are open to visitors from November 17, 2021, to January 9, 2022. Kew Gardens opens at 4 PM and closes at 10 PM. The last entry is at 8 PM.
These are the dates that Kew Gardens closes:
Before going to Kew Gardens, you have to know its specific location first. You can find Kew Gardens in Kew, Richmond, Southwest London, United Kingdom.The postcode is TW9 3AE.
You can book your stay in hotels near Kensington for better conectivity via tube and convenience due to central London location.
You can go to Kew Gardens in four ways:
● For bus number 65, the route stops near Elizabeth, Lion, and Victoria Gate.
● For bus number 110, the route stops close to Elizabeth Gate and the station of Kew Gardens.
● For bus number 237 and bus number 267, the route stops at the station of Kew Bridge.
Going to Kew Gardens by car is the fastest option since it only takes 20 minutes to go there when you are coming from central London. Simply input the postcode and find your routes on your navigation applications.
Going to Kew Gardens by tube is the most cost-effective way. You can find the station of Kew Gardens 500 meters from the Victoria Gate in Zone 3. This is served by the London Overground and the Richmond Branch District Line.
Remember that in the platform of the westbound, you cannot find level access. So you must go to Richmond first, then ride a tube with a level access eastbound service.
When you go to Kew Gardens by train, you can find the Kew Bridge station 800 meters from the Elizabeth Gate onto the Kew Bridge. Afterward, you should take the South West Train through the Junction of Vauxhall and Clapham.
Remember that in Kew Bridge, you cannot find level access. You should go to Richmond station; you have to take bus number 65, which takes you to the Elizabeth, Lion, and Victoria Gate. In the Richmond station, there is level access and lift access.
In Kew Gardens, you can find four entrances and four exits:
1. Brentford Gate with the postcode TW9 3AF
● When you arrive by bike
2. Elizabeth Gate with the postcode TW9 3AB
● When you arrive by bike
● The nearest entrance when you take bus number 65 and bus number 110
● When you arrive by train which stop at the Kew Bridge station
3. Lion Gate with the postcode TW9 2DF
● When you arrive by bike
● The nearest entrance when you take bus number 65
● When you arrive by train which stops at the Richmond station
4. Victoria Gate with the postcode TW9 3JR
● When you arrive by bike
● When you arrive by tube
● The nearest entrance when you take bus number 65
● When you arrive by train which stops at the Richmond station
Kew Gardens have parking provisions for cars and bikes. However, you must reach Kew Gardens earlier to have a parking slot. I also recommend that if you do not want to experience struggles in looking for parking slots.
● The designated parking area for cars is at Ferry Lane, which is close to the Brentford Gate.
● The postcode is TW9 3AF.
● The parking fee costs seven euros which are paid either on the paybyphone application or on-site. However, it is free for moped owners and motorcycle owners.
● Those with a blue badge can freely park in available parking spaces and disabled access if the parking spaces are full.
● Parking is no longer allowed after thirty minutes of the closing time of Kew Gardens.
● During the weekends, the Herbarium car park serves as an overflow parking space when the Ferry Lane car park becomes full.
● Reserved parking spaces at Ferry Lane car park cost ten euros.
● There are bicycle racks in Brentford Gate, Elizabeth Gate, Lion Gate, and Victoria Gate.
● Bicycle racks in Victoria and Elizabeth gate are located at the back of the booths.
● A limited number of Victoria Gate lockers are being closed.
● Be cautious when you park your bike outside the premises of Kew.
● Scooters, bicycles, skateboards, and roller skates are not allowed to enter Kew Gardens.
If you choose to park around Kew Gardens, these are nine things you must remember:
Do not park on Kew Road. The postcode is A307. However, you are allowed to park along this road.
When you use the RingGo application, you need to pay when parking in visitor parking spaces.
You can use the Just Park application to find the nearest parking spots close to Kew Gardens easily. You can also use this application to find parking spots in the Richmond Athletic Grounds, with the postcode TW9 2SF. Richmond Athletic Grounds is a twenty-minute walk going to Victoria Gate.
Kew Gardens is not affiliated with the Just Park application.
There are three drop-off areas and three disabled-access parking areas in Elizabeth Gate.
There are restrictions if you park on residential streets.
You cannot find a coach park at Kew Gardens.
If you choose to park at Brentford Gate Car Park, these are three things you must remember:
Parking tickets during the day are valid until 3 o'clock in the afternoon.
You must buy a parking ticket if you will be staying until the evening.
The Brentford Gate Car Park will close at ten o'clock in the evening.
If you choose to park at National Archives Car Park, these are two things you must remember:
Parking spaces are available from 3:30 in the afternoon.
You can reach the National Archives Car Park eleven minutes from Victoria Gate and twenty-five minutes from Lion Gate.
If you choose to park at parking spaces for Disabled Access, any of these three things applies to you:
If you are a PWD, you can park at Ferry Lane.
If you have reserved a parking ticket and chose Disabled Access.
From Where To Get Tickets
If you want to get a ticket, you can get it for sale using this link: https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-on/christmas.
These are the ticket prices:
● Below four years old: Free
● Four years old until 16 years old: £14
Take note that all tickets require a transaction fee. Concessions are also applicable.
You can choose to stay in the Parkcity Grand Plaza Kensington. This is a stylish boutique hotel located in the neighborhood of South Kensington in London. The prices differ depending on the room you choose and how long you will stay at the hotel.
For more information, visit this link: https://www.parkcitylondon.com/.
There are many things that you can do in Kew Gardens. I can promise that you will never be bored because there are so many exciting places to visit and engaging activities to do in Kew Gardens.
● Princess of Wales Conservatory
2. Entertaining Activities
● Watch classic movies at the cinema
3. Visit Palace and Ornamental Buildings
● Japanese Gateway or Chokushi-Mon
● Queen Charlotte's Cottage
4. Visit Museums and Galleries
● Shirley Sherwood Gallery
If you want to have a remembrance of your Christmas experience, Kew Gardens has your back! You can visit four shops wherein you can buy books and other diverse gifts you can take home.
After a long day, you can make your tummy happy by dining at restaurants or cafes in Kew Gardens. There are five restaurants or cafes, so you have a wide variety of cuisines to choose from.
There is a myriad of things to look forward to this year in Kew Gardens. Upon knowing these, I am sure that you immediately want to go the next day to Kew Gardens. These are the new things you can expect when you visit Kew Gardens:
● New shows lighting the Palm House and Temperate House
● "Spheric" installation with synchronized music
● Aurora, which is made by Ithaca, a sound and light artist
● Projections of the heritage trees of Kew Gardens
● Botanical treasures from the living collections of Kew Gardens
● Illumination of a rainbow tree
● "On the Wings of Freedom" LED installation
● Projections in Palm house along with classic Christmas tracks
