Palm House

Richmond, Kew & Hampton Court


The enormous and elaborate 700-glass-paned Palm House in Kew Gardens is a domed hothouse of metal and curved sheets of glass dating from 1848, enveloping a splendid display of exotic tropical greenery; an aerial walkway offers a parrot’s-eye view of the lush vegetation. The huge Jurassic cycad (Encephalartos altensteinii) here is the world's oldest pot plant.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Richmond, Kew & Hampton Court attractions

1. Waterlily House

0.02 MILES

The tiny and irresistibly steamy Waterlily House in Kew Gardens shelters a gigantic Victoria cruziana water lily, with gourds of all shapes and sizes…

2. Great Broad Walk Borders

0.07 MILES

Stretching north from near the Palm House in Kew Gardens, the 320m-long and well-tended Great Broad Walk Borders constitute the longest double herbaceous…

3. Princess of Wales Conservatory

0.11 MILES

The angular Princess of Wales Conservatory in Kew Gardens houses plants in 10 different climatic zones – everything from a desert to a mangrove swamp…

4. Kew Palace

0.31 MILES

The smallest of the royal palaces, red-brick Kew Palace in Kew Gardens is a former royal residence once known as Dutch House, built in 1631. It was the…

5. Orangery

0.31 MILES

Designed by Sir William Chambers, this elegant Grade I listed plant house in Kew Gardens is home to a cafe.

6. Marianne North Gallery

0.38 MILES

This gallery in Kew Gardens displays the botanical paintings of Marianne North, an indomitable traveller who roamed the continents from 1871 to 1885,…

7. Temperate House

0.39 MILES

Built in 1860 and closed for vital restoration work until 2018, the beautiful Temperate House in the southeast of Kew Gardens is the world’s largest…

8. Treetop Walkway

0.43 MILES

In the Arboretum, the fascinating Treetop Walkway first takes you underground and then 18m up in the air into the tree canopy.