Come visit the Royal Botanic Garden by Sydney Harbour and the Opera House!

Each year there are about four million visitors who come by the Royal Botanic Garden, which is Australia’s oldest living scientific institution. There are more than 27,000 plants in the Botanic Garden that come from Australia and the rest of the world!

How long do I need?

You may want to spend around an hour or two hours at the Royal Botanic Garden. This will allow you to follow the path through the gardens, and even some time to stop by the shops or a cafe.

What gardens can I see?

There are four garden sections which are the Lower Gardens, Middle Gardens, the Palace Gardens, and the Bennelong precinct. Within these four districts, there are smaller gardens.

  • Eucalypt Lawn

    Eucalypt Lawn has some eucalypt trees creating a shady area to enjoy the views. The lawn sits on a rock ledge which looks out onto the beautiful Sydney Harbour. You can bring along a blanket and some food to have a delicious picnic with a view.

  • Palace Rose Garden

    The Palace Rose Garden is perhaps one of the best smelling gardens in the Royal Botanic Garden. This current garden is the ninth rose garden to be planted in the Botanic Garden! Come check out the perfect looking colourful roses and smell the divine scents.

  • Lotus Pond

    The Lotus Pond is linked to the Main Pond and has heaps of lotus and water lilies in the pond. In the middle of the pond, there is a water fountain that you can listen to trinkle into the water while you read a book or relax watching the scenery.

  • Succulent Garden

    This garden has some of the oddest plants you can imagine that can survive the driest places. In this garden, there are all kinds of cacti, different aloes, and even the mysterious stapelia which flowers from the ground. This garden was also built on top of the first Australian Zoo as a little fun fact!

What can I do?

Throughout the year the Royal Botanic Garden hosts all kinds of events from festivals, plant sales, exhibitions, and more! There are also gift shops and restaurants to check out during your visit.

  • Guided walks

    There are different kind of guided walks you can do throughout the year that takes you around to different gardens to learn about certain plants.

    One of the most worthy walks to do is one of the Aboriginal tours like the Bush Tucker tour or the Harbour Heritage tour. The Bush Tucker tour takes you around to the different Aboriginal bush foods and how it’s used today.

  • Garden Shop

    The Garden Shop has some cute botanic inspired gifts for your family and friends. There are plenty of gifts, homeware products, and much more you can buy from the shop.

  • Botanic House

    Botanic House is a modern Australian cuisine, the perfect place to catch up with family and friends over a meal or coffee. The restaurant has seating on the verandas with garden views, making it such a peaceful area.

  • Mrs Macquarie’s Chair

    In 1810, Mrs Macquarie who was the wife of Governor Macquarie had a chair made for her. The chair was carved out of the sandstone ledge by convicts. You can see this sandstone carved chair towards the end of the Botanic Garden with beautiful views of the Sydney Harbour.

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