Royal Botanic Gardens

Beautiful garden not far from the CBD. Kid’s love the children’s garden. Fantastic spot to cool down on a warm day with the running stream perfect for splashing. Lovely shady areas for a picnic and we always stop at the café afterwards for a coffee and ice cream!

I love Botanical Gardens and try to visit them in every new place I visit. The Melbourne Botanic Gardens is very large and beautiful. I will admit it wasn’t the best season for me to visit so there wasn’t that much in bloom. It is still a great place to take a stroll and explore the different sections of the garden. I definitely recommend a stroll through and also check out the gift shop — great gift ideas!

The Royal Botanic Gardens is Melbourne’s answer to NYC’s Central Park, Chicago’s Millennium Park, and Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden. Is a great park? Absolutely. There’s definitely places where you could just sit and watch the world go by. Does it have Central Park or Millennium Park’s charisma? Unfortunately, it doesn’t.
I definitely enjoyed the Shrine of Remembrance, the multiple statues, and the view of Downtown Melbourne. However, it was missing that extra something that made it unforgettable like losing your virginity. Although it was a great experience but I guess you have to go through it multiple times to really appreciate it like sex. Well, I suddenly know how women feel now.

Beautiful place to walk around. We enjoyed a lovely sunny day walking through and all around. We stopped for a picnic lunch and watched the people strolling by.

This place is stunning… The shear variety of species is incredible! They really spent a lot of time creating wandering paths that take you subtle beauty. There orchestrated different parts of the world and organising groups of species together to take you somewhere else.
No plant has been left unlabelled and for those curios to know the Latin name of any will be thrilled haha with lakes in the middle paired with sadly a not so incredible café (a little touristy for my taste) the whole park is designed with the centre being lower with the tree around the edges drowning out the city and its pollution.
Whilst your here be sure to visit the memorial and all of its splendour. You can sometimes catch the ceremonial salut and change of guards at sunset with the flags being brought down.

WARNING! THERE IS NO BAR OR NFL IN THE BOTANIC GARDENS!
My gal-​pal Bingo asked me to go for a walk this morning so we could *see stuff* while we were in Australia. What-​evs. I only agreed because I’d blown off her birthday last week in Brisbane because I found NFL football on television and got shit-​housed.
Today, when I couldn’t find the Chiefs/​Raiders game on tv in the hotel, a nice walk down the river sounded like a great way to find a bar with football showing.
Not Even Close. The stupid walk down the Yarra river didn’t have dick — at least between my hotel and the Gardens. No hot dog stands. No alligators. And no sports bars whatsoever.
And this isn’t a short walk either. It was like 15 — 20 minutes and the whole time there’s all these assholes on bikes or roller-​blades or running right in your face. It’s a serious annoyance & safety issue.
At one point we were confronted by literally 60 – 70 kids on some Bataan Death Ride of bicycles. Don’t they have schools here? One kid up front had to stop and push his bike up a small hill leading from the path to the street cuz he was too fat & weak to make it up, creating a massive traffic jam of all his cohorts behind him.
«Why are we stopped?» says some egghead as we pass towards the end of the line.
«Oh, some kid at the front was just killed by a car.» I said and hurried on. Children only learn thru trauma, invented or otherwise.
We get to the Botanic Gardens and fucked if there’s no bars or tv in there either. It’s just trees and shit. Now I’m really cranky and start hitting the six-​pack I had Bingo carry for me in a back-​pack full of ice.
I notice a sign that directs you down a path to Guilfoyle’s Volcano.
Aside from the unpronounceable name — Guilfoyle? What kinda Chinese is that? — I figure I can live with just checking the football score on my cell-​phone if I’m gonna see a volcano. I even kept my empties to chuck in it rather than whip them at ducks in the duck pond.
WARNING! THERE IS NO VOLCANO IN THE BOTANIC GARDENS!
Complete fucking rip-​off. The volcano simply doesn’t exist. How can that be legal? I’m not scared of any volcano but I’m sure it terrifies the shit out of the locals and probably kills any property value if this wasteland even has any value.
Another sign sends you to Fern Gully which any semi-​educated jerk-​off knows is a FUCKING CARTOON and DOESN’T EXIST.
So if you like to get ripped off, lied to and watch old people looking at bushes, then this is the place for you.
The only thing I liked was the sign listing everything that’s not allowed in the park — like having fun — includes «No Jogging.» At least they have some decency. Joggers suck shit. Get a car and quit rubbing your poverty in everybody’s face.
Here’s a picture I took that may show hope that they might be building something cultural like a Tilt-​O-​Whirl or a Dunk Tank.
PS: The Chiefs lost 24 – 20 to the Raiders. Not that anyone in this third world country ever got to see it. Maybe they should get more CULTURE and less bushes.

I fell in love with the Royal Botanic Gardens the first time I went there. It really is a great green space with a large and diverse amount of flora from around the globe.
It’s big enough that you can go inside and actually forget you are in the city. The Royal Botanic gardens is great to walk around or just sit in and soak up all the nature around you. To walk around the whole gardens at a leisurely pace takes about an hour. Along with the trees, flowers and grass, there are numerous bodies of water to look at including quite a large sized lake. The Royal Botanic Gardens is divided into many different areas like the Australian Forest Walk, Arid Garden, Rare and Threatened Species Collection, Eucalypts, Herb Garden and many more. There’s even a man made volcano.
There’s many places to sit and picnic with friends and you can even catch a wedding or two especially on the weekend. There’s nature cottages to see, rotundas to sit in and in the summer they even house a moonlight cinema. Other attractions include the Shrine of Remembrance and war museum which are well worth a visit; and if you are feeling energetic join the masses of runners and circumnavigate the gardens by running the gravel tan track.
This is a great place to come all year round and a must do in Melbourne. A definite 5 star attraction.

Royal Botanic Gardens has always been a great place to visit. Sure, at times it can
get overrun with tourist and families and groups, but there are too, time when you can visit and it is a little bit more calm. There’s times when it’s also quiet as well, as these are the best for just exploring and going around the park as you wish. You can return to these gardens and find something new each time, it never gets old, not matter how old you may be. Definitely worth the experience even if you hail from Melbourne. Lots of greenery and trees providing an well needed escape from the concrete jungle.

The royal botanical gardens are just beautiful. Covering a large area right next to melbourne’s cbd there is plenty of room for wandering and discovering new areas.
In summer this is one of my favorite places with outdoor plays, moonlight cinema, concerts or just a picnic with friends.
This year I was lucky enough to attend the inaugural royal botanic runway. This fashion parade, showcasing some of Australia’s best talent was a really lovely way to spend an afternoon. The runway was centered around the vulcanolo which meant that the models had a much longer runway than usual. The runway allowed great viewing from the lawn which was filled with some very elegantly dressed ladies.
Café vue provided some very tasty picnic hampers which were well priced and perfect for the warm weather.
The best part of the runway is that proceeds go towards making the botanical gardens more sustainable by decreasing potable water use and irrigating with storm water from surrounding streets. This means melbournians will enjoy green gardens even with dry weather conditions without dipping into their drinking water supply.

I absolutely love the Royal Botanic Gardens. It’s a well-​maintained expanse of space with beautiful and interesting plants and plenty of room for picnics with friends. Plus it also hosts various events like theatre performances and outdoor movie screenings (complete with bats flying overhead).
I learned to love the Gardens even more when I took a free guided tour. Among other things, our tour included various native Australian plants with information about how they had adapted to harsh climate, tales about a bat colony in fern gulley, a ‘flame tree’ that was blooming for the first time in three years, and my personal favourite — a massive plant that could be traced back millions of years and was once food for the dinosaurs.
And for even more of the feel good experience — many of the guides are retired volunteers that are giving back to the community.
The RBG website currently states that guided tours are available throughout the summer:
Tuesday — Sunday
11am — 12.30pm and 2 — 3.30pm
It’s an hour and a half well spent!
The Botanic Gardens are high on my list of recommendations for visitors, and also a fabulous place for locals to relax for an afternoon..

Such an amazing space in the city. Large enough for lots of people to enjoy, without feeling squished in. Grab a picnic, camera or good book, head here with friends, family or the dog. Beautiful gardens for all to enjoy.

In a city known for it’s bars, food trucks and graffiti — the Botanic Gardens make for an amazing flip side.
If you’re a St. Kilda road office worker, head down on your lunch break for a quick snooze and some sunshine.
If you’re young (or young at heart) visit the fairy garden.
You’ll find the hip kids by Ornamental Lake picnicking and playing music. If they’re not there, no doubt they’ll be at the cactus garden sneaking succulent off-​cuts into their Herschels.
The Tan provides exactly the workout you’d expect, but it’s generally busy at EVERY time of day. Pro tip: head down the day of Stereosonic — the beautiful people are elsewhere.

I never, ever, ever come to Melbourne without visiting the Botanic Gardens at least once, usually more. Sure, it helps that I stay right by it, but even if I didn’t, I would get here. It’s just such a great place to walk around, enjoy nature, watch the birds, watch the people, even take a nap or read a book on a nice day.
No need for a map, just wander around. It’s big, but not so huge that you’ll get lost. And if you do, so be it — you’ll find a way out, and discover greatness along the way. My favorite thing is just sitting or standing by the water, watching the birds and fish do their thing. It’s a nice break from the city, but so close you can walk.
There is at least one food option here which is affordable enough (considering the entrance is free) and has decent food and drink selection. So, if you do decide to eat here, you’ll find something to enjoy.

A really lovely botanic gardens. You can’t beat a bench on the Ornamental Lake around magic hour (before sunset) when the colors are in full bloom and the birds are plentiful in both sea and sky.

One of the great beauties of Melbourne, the Royal Botanic Garden is free to enter and is a pleasant way to spend a few hours walking, picnicking or exploring.
I especially love the cactus gardens and the duck ponds.

Beautiful, expansive park grounds, more like a collection of landscaped parks than pristinely manicured gardens. So many gardens and walks to visit, you can easily spend an entire afternoon exploring the paths or simply bring a book and blanket to enjoy the sun. Signage for all the paths and landmarks are clear and abundant.
The Ornamental Lake is massive and offers a lovely stroll, the floating islands are pretty Don’t miss Guilfoyle’s Volcano at the south end of the Gardens, which is well-​kept and tranquil.

I don’t really know if it’s necessary to add a review to this place… And here I am, doing one.
Well since Unilocal kept asking me to do it, THERE IT IS !
Why wouldn’t it be necessary? Because You don’t even have to read anything, just… Go there, be amazed, find a spot, take off your shirt (or maybe not if you’re a girl, or a bit shy, or just because you don’t even wear a shirt in the first place… Weirdo) and enjoy the sun (and the clouds, we’re in Melbourne, remember ?) and the birds singing.
I was really impressed the first time I came here, it’s huge, it’s not crowded, it’s beautiful, you can lay on the grass, it’s clean, it’s peaceful… Take a book, take some music, take both, and even if you don’t like Nike: Just do it.

Great gardens. Very large, with a variety of green spaces: big lawns for relaxing, shady trees to sit under, ponds with black swans, paths for running (lots of those, including a perimeter path with kilometre markings), thick (ish) bits of bush, large trees, and flowerbeds. The arid garden has cacti and other desert plants. And it’s not all Australian plants here, either: they’ve got greenery from all over the world.
Come for the plants, or come for a quiet green spot.

Okay. Here’s my story: My friend and I came here near-​sunset when it closes and we stayed even after it closed. What happened:
~ Bats. From all over the city flying to the trees.
~ Rustling in the bushes.
~ Dark pathways where you can’t see 2 metres in front of you.
~ Absolutely deserted.
~ Sprained my ankle.
~ Couldn’t get out — everything was gated.
~ Pathetically called security.
What a great experience.
P. S. Sorry to the people at the Herbarium — we went into your office to use your phone to dial security…

Right near the Kings Domain and the Shrine of Remembrance; you have reached the ultimate garden that I would be more than happy to spend hours on end in. Allow yourself a leisurely day in nature. And ensure you are wearing comfortable walking shoes; and you have had a morning coffee with some healthy snacks on hand to get you through the amazing day you are about to encounter with an open mind and positive attitude.
Great for locals and visitors to Melbourne alike. You must be willing to love beautiful flowers and nature. Also the children’s playground is greatness; where I will bring my two nieces from Sydney when they come down to Melbourne and see me at Christmas.
What I really love about the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne is that there is no skyscraper or city skyline in sight as you settle right into this beautiful oasis; and for those of you visiting Melbourne out there: the Melbourne City Tourist Shuttle will drop you outside, and any of the trams in nearby St Kilda Road are just as great.
You really feel like your at the rainforest and living in nature. Yes, as great as it gets and a great lady of leisure experience on a Friday morning. Bliss.

der botanische garten in melbourne ist einer der schönsten, die ich australien gesehen habe. man kann hier wunderbar von der quirligen großstadt entspannen. mit der bahn ist man in ca. 8 min dort, muss dann noch ca. 5 laufen und man ist mittendrin. überall stehen große wegweiser, man kann sich leicht verlaufen, da der garten sehr groß ist. TOLL: überall stehen trinkwasserbrunnen. am see ist der ideale platz um seine picknickdecke rauszuholen (nur bitte nicht grillen, das ist verboten). eine tolle aussicht hat man vom anzac memorial das etwa 3 gehminuten vom eingang entfernt auf einem kleinen berg liegt. man kann die ganze melbourner skyline von hier sehen. es werden auch kostenlose führungen angeboten, unbedingt nachfragen. der eintritt in den garten ist übrigens kostenlos.

Der sehr große und wunderschöné botanischer Garten ist eine grüné Oase in der Millionenstadt Melbourne. Was mir den Besuch unvergesslich machte, war für die Pflanzen allerdings eine Plage: Flughunde (treffender auf Englisch: Grey-​headed Flying Foxes), eine imposante (und überraschend schöné) Fledermausgattung, die zu Tausenden an den Bäumen hingen, teilweise auch am Tage sehr aktiv waren und viele Pflanzen kahl gefressen hatten. Mittlerweile sind die Horden wohl umgesiedelt, aber wer weiß, vielleicht entdeckt man ja mal wieder einen fliegenden Hund. (Foto eines aus dem Zoo Leipzig)