Tickets go on sale for historic reopening of Edinburgh's restored Palm Houses

Tickets have gone on sale for the highly anticipated reopening of the historic Palm Houses at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) following a multi-million pound restoration.

The opening marks the end of five years of restoration works—dubbed “the most ambitious restoration and development programme in the Garden's 356-year history”.

The Palm House closed to the public in 2019 and has undergone a seven-year long restoration. The restoration—which is part of the £58 million Edinburgh Biomes restoration and development programme—has been supported by the Scottish Government, a network of generous donors including The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and a public fundraising campaign.

The restoration of the original Georgian and Victorian structure has seen all 5,750 panes of glass replaced using bespoke templates, 600 m² of ironwork fully restored or replaced and 500 m² of sandstone repairs carried out, with some replacement stones weighing around a quarter of a tonne.

The Palm House is set to re-open in October after seven years | RBGE

Professor Julia Knights, Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, said: "At the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh we are thrilled to be re-opening the world's tallest traditional Palm House to visitors following five years of painstaking restoration, made possible with generous support from the Scottish Government and our donors.

"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 and share amazing stories with them around the global conservation science our teams are doing to protect many of those species endangered or extinct in the wild due to habitat loss and climate change.”

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Entry to the Palm Houses will be by ticketed admission, with allocated time slots available throughout the day. To avoid disappointment, RBGE recommends pre-booking in advance.

Tickets will be available from Friday 2 October. For more information and to book your tickets please go to the RBGE website at rbge.org.uk/palm-houses.

Members and Patrons of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh go free and will benefit from special preview access in September 2026, ahead of the public opening.