Archie MontroseThe 5 Best Gardens in Vancouver
Looking for a scenic place to take pictures? Well, Vancouver has a lot to offer for that.
Whether for picture-taking or a day of enjoying nature, the best gardens in Vancouver have a lot to offer to visitors.
Here is the list of what we think are the most beautiful gardens in Vancouver and the highlights of each garden so you can pick which one to visit.
How Much Does Visiting the Best Gardens in Vancouver Cost?
Let’s talk about the entrance fee before we head to the article.
Usually, the entrance fee for gardens is based on the season as they also have peak seasons (when flowers are in bloom). However, many gardens here in Vancouver are generally accessible.
| Gardens | Entrance Fee |
| VanDusen Botanical Garden | Winter-Fall: Adult (19-64): $8.40 Senior (65+): $5.90 Youth (13-18): $5.90 Child (5-12): $4.20 Children 4 and younger: Free Spring/Summer: Adult (19-64): $11.70 Senior (65+): $8.20 Youth (13-18): $8.20 Child (5-12): $5.85 Children 4 and younger: Free |
| Bloedel Conservatory | Adult (19-64): $7.05 Senior (65+): $4.80 Youth (13-18): $4.80 Child (5-12): $3.55 Children 4 and younger: Free |
| Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden | Adult (19-64): $16 Senior (65+): $12 Youth (13-18): $13 Family: $32 |
| Nitobe Memorial Garden | $5 Children 5 and younger: Free Family: $24 |
| Stanley Park | Free |
Those are just the current entrance fees for each garden here. The prices also don’t include the taxes.
The Best Gardens in Vancouver
Now that you know about the entrance fees, let’s talk about Vancouver’s best gardens.
1. VanDusen Botanical Garden
| HIGHLIGHTS | Hedge maze Wildlife |
| ADDRESS | 5151 Oak Street, Vancouver BC V6M 4H1 |
| CONTACT NUMBER | (604) 257-8463 |
| WEBSITE | https://vandusengarden.org/ |
| OPERATING HOURS | Monday – Sunday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM |
Escape all the city noises at VanDusen Botanical Garden. With acres upon acres of flowers, this place offers unrivalled scenic views.
We’re sure that you won’t lack things to take pictures of here as they have about 8,000 flowers planted, waterfalls, lakes, and beautiful architecture.
Although, if you ever get tired of flowers here, this garden also has a hedge maze you can try to find your way out of. Made of 3,000 cones, it’s pretty easy to get lost in.
This place is also not just scenic: it’s also a house of a variety of birds, bees, and urban wildlife. Just be careful to not disturb the fauna when visiting here.
As beautiful as this garden is, we’re pretty sad that they don’t allow pets inside. While guard dogs are allowed, pets such as cats and other animals won’t be able to get in.
Pros
- Different sceneries
- Hedge maze
Cons
- No pets allowed
Visitor Reviews
Comments from visitors show how beautiful and peaceful this place is:
“This garden is a gem in the city. What a wonderful treat to be able to escape all the business and noise in such a peaceful and beautiful place. All the different gardens within are worth the walk. The small cost is worth it for the visit. So good in both the summer and winter seasons. Looking forward to it being open longer hours again so we can visit in the spring and fall also.” – Ryan F
“Its a botanical garden. One can find hundreds of species of plants that too from different parts of the world with all the necessary information about them given in placards. The place is worth visiting but you have to pay for the ticket which varies for different age groups.” – Rahuldeep Singh Trehan
2. Bloedel Conservatory
| HIGHLIGHTS | Unique habitats Exotic animals |
| ADDRESS | 4600 Cambie Vancouver BC V5Z 2Z1 |
| CONTACT NUMBER | (604) 257-8584 |
| WEBSITE | https://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/bloedel-conservatory.aspx |
| OPERATING HOURS | Monday – Sunday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM Friday: 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM |
If you want a different garden experience, the Bloedel Conservatory is one of the most unique gardens in Vancouver.
The Bloedel Conservatory is an indoor garden that features tropical rainforest plants that aren’t native to Canada. When you’re here, you definitely feel like you’ve stepped into the Amazon.
There are also different “habitat” sections in this conservatory, so you can move from tropical rainforest to desert as desired. This makes it an interesting learning experience too as you’ll see the different flowers unique to those habitats.
Plants aren’t the only things you’ll see here either. This conservatory is home to more than 120 exotic birds.
So, if you visit this place, don’t forget to say ‘hi’ to the parrots, as they might even reply!
As beautiful as this garden is, we kinda wish that it had been bigger though. Bloedel Conservatory, being an indoor garden, is only a quarter of an acre.
Still, there’s enough to see here that first-time visitors shouldn’t get bored.
Pros
- Unique plants
- Exotic animals
Cons
- Smaller than most other gardens
Visitor Reviews
Many of their visitors love the birds that fly around the conservatory:
“Nice side trip for an hour to enjoy some cool plants and birds. Ended up coming here and then taking a walk around the paths outside and around the park.
When I went you have to book your tickets online, and you have an hour to go around the dome which only takes about 30 minutes if you take pictures and your time.” – Joe Guevara
“What an absolute delight! My only regret is that I’ve lived in the Lower Mainland my whole life but have never been here until now! This place would still be a great deal at double (or triple!) the price of admission. Free ranging birds everywhere, gorgeous lush plants, and it’s clearly exceptionally well-taken-care-of. We’ll definitely be back!” – Ross Ferguson
3. Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
| HIGHLIGHTS | Guided tour Unique architecture and structures |
| ADDRESS | 578 Carrall St, Vancouver, BC V6B 5K2 |
| CONTACT NUMBER | (604) 662-3207 |
| WEBSITE | https://vancouverchinesegarden.com/ |
| OPERATING HOURS | Wednesday – Sunday: 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM |
You can transport yourself to China in Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. Enclosed with white walls, this garden is the perfect place to find peace.
In our opinion, this is one of the most picturesque gardens in Vancouver. It has a unique aesthetic with its Ming dynasty-style pavilions and structures.
You will also find bridges, pagodas, beautiful plants, and ponds covered with water lilies.
Also, there’s a guided tour here if you want to know more about the architecture of this Chinese garden.
However, the entrance fee to this garden is the highest in our list. So, if you’re really saving money, this isn’t one of the gardens where you can just visit every day for relaxation.
Pros
- Beautiful architecture
- There’s a guided tour available
Cons
- Expensive entrance fee
Visitor Reviews
The visitors love how unique this garden is:
“Absolutely worth a visit to the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. A stone throw away from the chaos of urban downtown takes you into a serene step back in ancient Chinese culture. Well maintained and a true piece of Vancouver history. Part garden part museum.” – Arjun Tyagi
“A beautiful place to visit. The free, park side is not currently open. Only the paid side is. Absolutely worth the visit. I easily spent an hour exploring even with the walk thru the gardens being one direction due to COVID19 restrictions.” – EW1444
4. Nitobe Memorial Garden
| HIGHLIGHTS | Tea house Wildlife |
| ADDRESS | 1895 Lower Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4 |
| CONTACT NUMBER | (604) 822-6038 |
| WEBSITE | https://botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/visit/nitobe-memorial-garden/ |
| OPERATING HOURS | Wednesday – Sunday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM |
Nitobe Memorial Garden is a classic Japanese garden. This was designed and built by a famous Japanese architect, making it as authentic as it can be if you’re seeking Japanese aesthetics.
The landscaping here is also inspired by Japanese horticulture. Of course, there are also Japanese trees and flowers here.
One of the plants you’ll encounter here is the famous cherry blossom tree. This is welcome news for most, as it means there’s no need to fly to Japan just to see those blossom every spring.
Aside from the plants, Nitobe Memorial Garden also boasts a tea house. There are also tea ceremonies hosted by Urasenke Foundation every summer where guests can watch and learn about the ceremony.
While this is a very zen place, we admit that we really want more from this garden. It’s a beautiful place but it’s also pretty small in comparison to some others.
Pros
- Japanese plants around the garden
- Unique tea house to visit
Cons
- Small garden
Visitor Reviews
Visitors absolutely love this park and how calm it is:
“As a visitor from Ottawa, one thing I really appreciate about Vancouver is the way every bit of the city has gems like the Nitobe Memorial Garden. The garden presents a very calm sentiment and we were very lucky to visit and enjoy the place to ourselves. It allowed us time to reflect and see the beauty around us. Definitely worth a visit.” – Andrea Soegondo
“Such a elegant and gorgeous little garden! Absolutely amazing! Been in Vancouver for years, and this is our first visit. We feel like in Japan! Beautiful place for photo shoot as well! A must visit if you are in Vancouver and autumn is a good season to explore!” – Henry Chen
5. Stanley Park
| HIGHLIGHTS | Different gardens in one park |
| ADDRESS | 610 Pipeline Rd, Vancouver, BC |
| CONTACT NUMBER | (604) 873-7000 |
| WEBSITE | https://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/stanley-park.aspx |
| OPERATING HOURS | Monday – Sunday: 6:00 AM – 10:00 PM |
We included the whole park because we can’t just choose one of the gardens in this park.
There are 4 gardens in Stanley Park. There’s a rose garden, rock garden, Shakespeare garden, and a rhododendron garden.
The rose garden boasts about 3,500 roses. Planted in rose beds with varieties, this garden is very colorful and looks great as a backdrop in pictures.
The rock garden, meanwhile, is actually the first public garden in Vancouver. It was only rediscovered in 2006.
Due to its historical importance, there’s an area in the rock garden where you can travel back in time and see what it looks like when it was first built.
Another garden that can be found in Stanley Park is Ted and Mary Greig Rhododendron Garden. This garden has a collection of 4,500 rhododendrons and azaleas.
If you want to visit the rhododendron park, by the way, we suggest that you go there during the first weeks of May. That’s so you can see all the plants in full bloom.
Lastly, the Shakespeare garden at Stanley Park has 45 of the trees mentioned in Shakespeare’s works. So, if you love literature and nature, this garden is a good place to visit as each tree also has plaques with quotes where the tree is mentioned.
The best thing though is that you’ll be able to visit many gardens in Stanley Park for free.
Although there are a variety of gardens to visit in Stanley Park, many of these gardens are best visited during the seasons where the flowers are in bloom. So, while you can visit these place the whole year, you might not be able to see the flowers at its peak.
Pros
- Variety of gardens
- No entrance fee
Cons
- Gardens with only one type of flowers are best viewed for in only some seasons
Visitor Reviews
Here are some reviews from different visitors:
“So beautiful! I had no idea we had this beautiful garden in Stanley Park!” – Tanya Huang
“I can’t recommend this place enough for all occasions, there are lots of places in the shade for a wonderful picnic and gorgeous gardens all around. It’s perfect even for wedding photos along the arches at the lower garden. ☺️” – Andy
FAQs about the best gardens in Vancouver
We hope that this article helps you choose where to go next spring or the place to rent for your next photo shoot.
If you know a garden that deserves to be part of Vancouver’s best garden list, shoot us a message and we’ll review it.
And after visiting a garden, why not go all out and see another beautiful part of Vancouver? Check out different artworks and visit the best art galleries in Vancouver before you call it a day, for example!
