Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Palm Houses Reopen

placeholder image — Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

The iconic Palm Houses at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh will reopen this autumn – and you could have unlimited access to enjoy it every day.

After five years, and £58 million, the Palm Houses are ready to welcome visitors back to one of the city’s most-loved spaces.

Visitors will once more be able to explore a world of palms, ancient fern species and spectacular architecture, all beneath domes of glass. During this restoration the central partition was removed and for the first time in decades visitors will experience both buildings as one continuous space.

Warm, peaceful and filled with natural beauty, the Palm Houses are the perfect way to reconnect with nature right in the heart of Edinburgh – whatever the weather!

Tickets are now on sale, featuring one of the tallest traditional Palm Houses in the world. The Palm Houses will reopen to the public on Friday 2 October 2026, marking the completion of the "most ambitious restoration and development programme" in the Garden's 356-year history.

To buy tickets visit the website here

Regius Keeper Professor Julia Knights said: “The reopening of our iconic Palm Houses marks a landmark moment for the Botanics and a proud moment for Scotland. We can’t wait to invite our visitors to immerse themselves in the beauty and diversity of our palms and ferns.”

Membership – join once and escape all year

Membership transforms the Palm Houses from a day out into a place that is always there for you. A destination for a quiet morning walk, a lunch-hour escape, or time with family and friends. You can experience the changing Palm Houses through every season.

Members enjoy:

· Free Palm Houses entry all year round

· Free entry to all four of our Gardens

· 10% discount in our shops and cafés

· Invitations to member events and previews

· Reciprocal entry to participating gardens across the UK

· Discounted tickets to Christmas at the Botanics

Membership gives you the freedom to come back whenever you like. This is your place to explore, unfold and unwind again and again throughout every season.

Become a member today from just £3.60 per month. Every membership includes up to four children. For more details on membership click here

Restoring the Palm Houses

This was a once-in-a-generation restoration, through the Edinburgh Biomes project. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh’s Palm Houses, are among the finest surviving examples of 19th century glasshouse design in the world. However, nearly two centuries of Scotland’s climate had taken its toll on the ironwork, ageing glass and deteriorating sandstone, threatening not only the structure but some of the plants too.

This renovation of the A-listed structure has involved painstaking assessment and care of every plant - in some cases moving them to other glasshouses. It has also called upon the expertise of artisans – marrying historic craftsmanship and modern conservation techniques to ensure the Palm Houses remain both an architectural landmark and thriving home for one of the world’s most important living plant collections.

Thousands of panes of glass have been replaced and support structures strengthened. The removal of the central partition has created dramatic new views through the buildings and flooding the buildings with natural light.

New interpretation throughout will reveal the stories behind the remarkable plants, the people who care for them and the work that will continue long after the restoration is complete.

· For more information on the Royal Botanic GardenEdinburgh click here

· To book a visit to the Palm Houses click here.

· For membership information click here.