Things to Do in DC: Tour to US Botanic Garden
The US Botanic Garden is located on the grounds of the US Capitol. Admission is always free to the public. The main conservatory is open from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM every day of the year. The National Garden, which is an outdoor garden, remains open until 7:00 PM. And Bartholdi Park across Independence Avenue closes at dusk. The US Botanic Garden maintains free wheelchairs for use around the conservatory and gardens. Just ask at the information desk.
The Botanical Gardens are a popular stop on our Featured Tours. You can Book a tour including the Botanical Gardens.
The nearest Metro stations are Capitol South and Federal Center SW, both on the Orange, Blue and Silver Metro lines. Parking may not be very easy. There are commercial lots on 6th and C Streets SW. The parking area just outside of the US Botanic Garden is by permit only. There is no cafe or restaurant at the US Botanic Garden. However, the nearby Museum of the American Indian has an excellent cafeteria. The Rayburn House Office Building across Independence Avenue also has a cafeteria open to the public.
The Conservatory gardens contain several rooms. The largest is a jungle room. This includes a cat-walk high above the main floor in order to see the canopy. There is also a Garden Court, which has a wide array of plants. Furthermore, there is a desert room, an Hawaii room, and a garden primeval room. The whole area contains thousands of plants, very beautifully arrayed. There are always plants in bloom at any time of the year.
The National Garden is outside of the main glass conservatory and extends all the way up to 3rd Street.
Bartholdi Park is across Independence Avenue. Within, is the magnificent Bartholdi Fountain (1876), designed by the very same Frederic Bartholdi who later designed the Statue of Liberty in New York City.
The US Botanic Garden dates from 1842 at a prior location. It relocated to the current location in 1849. However, the beautiful conservatory building that we now see was finished in 1933. It was designed to resemble a French greenhouse of the 17th Century.
More information can be had at the official website at http://www.usbg.gov/