Botanic Gardens of Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom

The Botanic Gardens of Belfast opened in 1828 as the private Royal Belfast Botanical Gardens. It continued as a private park for many years, only opening to members of the public on Sundays prior to 1895. Then it became a public park in 1895 when the Belfast Corporation bought the gardens from the Belfast Botanical and Horticultural Society.

Occupying 28 acres (110,000 m2) of south Belfast, the gardens are popular with office workers, students and tourists. The gardens' most notable feature is the Palm House conservatory. It was completed in 1840. It is one of the earliest examples of a curvilinear cast iron glasshouses in the world. The Palm House consists of two wings, the cool wing and the tropical wing. Lanyon altered his original plans to increase the height of the latter wing's dome, allowing for much taller plants. In the past these have included an 11 metre tall globe spear lily. The lily, which is native to Australia, finally bloomed in 2005 after a 23-year wait. The Palm House also features a 400-year-old Xanthorrhoea.

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User Reviews

Paul McCrudden (10 months ago)
Was nice to have a bit of free time to check out the Gardens,, I little bit of magic in a bit so busy city at the moment ,, I would recommend the garden to anyone even if it's for just " 5 minutes " enjoy

Hayley Polin (10 months ago)
Maintained really well. Rose garden is beautiful when in full bloom. The palm house is lovely and has a range of different plants that live there all year round but also plants are on show for awhile from different palm houses or botanical gardens. A great spot to chill with friends in the better weather & close to botanic shops

T SQUAIR (10 months ago)
A serene environment with nice paths, an old school botanic greenhouse, and the Ulster Museum. Friendly people too. Highly recommend it.

Maureen Bunting (11 months ago)
I love walking in Botanic Gardens every day. Today I met a beautiful Bride and her Groom. Made my day.

Margaret Christie (13 months ago)
Beautiful gardens for walking. Trees magnificent at this time of year. Plenty of seats and toilets available. Very enjoyable experience..

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