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Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew covers 132 hectares on the banks of the Thames, in the borough of Richmond upon Thames. It began in 1759 as a pleasure garden of Princess Augusta of Wales and was expanded during the 19th century under the direction of the botanist William Hooker, until it became the scientific institution it is today. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003. It brings together historic glasshouses such as the Palm House, of iron and glass, built in 1848 by the architect Decimus Burton and the engineer Richard Turner, and the Temperate House, the largest surviving Victorian glasshouse. The Princess of Wales Conservatory recreates ten different climates under one roof. Other highlights are the Treetop Walkway, a raised walkway among the treetops, William Chambers' Great Pagoda of 1762, and Kew Palace, the smallest of the British royal palaces. The grounds also preserve several trees planted in the 18th century.

Things to do at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: 3 missions

• Size up a giant water lily leaf by eyeIn the Princess of Wales Conservatory, look for the giant Victoria water lily: its leaves can measure almost 3 metres across.
• Find the oldest potted plant in the worldInside the Palm House, find the cycad Encephalartos altensteinii, moved there in 1848 and considered the oldest known potted plant.
• Count the golden dragons of the Great PagodaLook at the golden dragons of the Great Pagoda, restored in 2018 after the originals disappeared around 1784; eight are hand-carved and the rest 3D-printed.

Near Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Source: Web oficial de Kew Gardens