How to Visit the Brooklyn Botanic Garden: Tips, Tickets, and What to See (2026)
The Steinhardt Conservatory. All photos by John O’Boyle / The Empty Nest Explorers
One of the best decisions Debbie and I made on a recent Brooklyn afternoon was skipping the city entirely and spending a few hours at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
It's 52 acres of carefully tended gardens right next to Prospect Park, and it's one of those places that never gets old, no matter the season.
The Garden was founded in 1910 and today features more than 12,000 kinds of plants from around the world.
| 🎟️ Adult Admission | ~$22 at door; ~$24 online (children under 12 free) |
| 🕐 Hours | Vary by season — check bbg.org/visit/hours |
| 📅 Closed | Mondays (except holidays) |
| 🎟️ Tickets | Advance tickets strongly recommended — book at bbg.org/tickets |
| 🌸 Cherry Blossoms | Typically peak mid-April through early May |
| 🚇 Closest Subway | Franklin Ave (4/5), Prospect Park (B/Q/S), Eastern Parkway (2/3) |
| 📍 Address | 990 Washington Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11225 |
Ticketing and Admission
One thing to know before you go: the Brooklyn Botanic Garden requires timed-entry tickets.
You can buy them at the entrance, but during spring or any busy weekend, things can sell out. Buying online at bbg.org/tickets ahead of time saves a lot of hassle.
Adult admission is around $22 at the door. Children under 12 get in free. If you're visiting between December and February on a weekday, the Garden offers pay-what-you-wish pricing, which makes it a wonderful low-cost winter afternoon.
During the spring bloom season, the Garden opens early at 8 a.m. Getting there before 10 a.m. on a weekend is the best way to beat the crowds.
Where is the Brooklyn Botanic Garden located?
The Brooklyn Botanical Garden is located right next to Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Museum. There are three entrances located at 150 Eastern Parkway, 455 Flatbush Avenue, and 990 Washington Avenue in Brooklyn.
How do I get to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden?
As you might have guessed, mass transit is the best way to visit the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.
Here are the closest subway stations:
Franklin Avenue/Botanic Garden Station - 4, 5 lines
Prospect Park Station - B, Q, S lines
Eastern Parkway-Brooklyn Museum Station - 2, 3 lines
New to the NYC subway? Our NYC Subway Guide for Visitors 2026 has everything you need to know
If you drive, there is limited parking at 900 Washington Avenue.
The Cranford Rose Garden
| Season | Highlights | Tips |
| 🌸 Spring Apr – May |
Cherry blossoms peak mid-April; roses peak early June | Book tickets well in advance; arrive before 10am on weekends |
| ☀️ Summer Jun – Aug |
Lily Pool, Water Garden, extended evening hours | Members get Wednesday evening access; weekdays are quieter |
| 🍂 Fall Sep – Nov |
Japanese maples, scarlet oaks, ginkgos turn color in October | Crowds thin out; one of the most peaceful times to visit |
| ❄️ Winter Dec – Feb |
Steinhardt Conservatory in full bloom; Lightscape holiday light event | Pay-what-you-wish on weekdays Dec–Feb; Lightscape runs late Nov through early Jan — check bbg.org for dates |
Are there places to eat at the Garden?
Yes, there are two restaurants, one fancy and one more casual, plus a coffee bar.
The Yellow Magnolia Café’s menu offers a range of meal choices from vegetable-centric small plates to heartier main dishes and plant-inspired desserts.
Reservations are recommended, and you can make them through Resy. You must have a ticket for the Garden to access the Café.
We ate at the Yellow Magnolia Canteen, on the terrace by the entrance to the Steinhardt Conservatory. It features pizzas, sandwiches, salads, snacks, and beverages. We had some delicious freshly squeezed lemonade and some decadent cookies. We justified the calories in the cookies by thinking about all the walking we just did around the Garden.
Coffee Bar - Serves a variety of espresso drinks and iced beverages along with sandwiches, salads, and soups.
Shopping at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
The retail shop, now called Terrain at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, is well worth a browse.
It carries a range of plants, gifts, and garden items. The Florilegium Society's botanical artwork is also on sale here. Before you Google "Florilegium Society," as I did, it means people who draw plants.
Highlights of our visit
Cranford Rose Garden - We recently visited in early June, so the Rose Garden was in full bloom. It was a beautiful Sunday so the garden was crowded, but the natural beauty overcame any inconveniences from the crowd.
The rose garden has been one of the Garden’s most popular attractions since it opened in 1928.
The Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden might be the most peaceful 30 minutes you'll spend in New York City.
It opened in 1915 and was the first Japanese garden built inside a public botanic garden in the United States.
More than a century later, it still feels like a different world. The Shinto shrine sits at the edge of the pond, surrounded by koi fish, a wooden bridge, and a waterfall made from Manhattan schist. It was designed by landscape architect Takeo Shiota, who wanted to create "a garden more beautiful than all others in the world." On a quiet weekday morning, it comes close.
Lilly Pool Terrace - features an amazing 100 varieties of hardy and tropical water lilies and lotuses. While it’s a great stop year-round, the Lilly pool really shines in July, August, and September.
Osborne Garden - We entered the Brooklyn Botanical Garden via the Eastern Parkway entrance so the Osborne Garden was our first stop. The most striking feature is the wisteria-draped pergolas.
The symmetrical design is typical of formal Italian European-style gardens and leads you to the rose garden.
Shakespeare Garden - After enjoying the Italian-style Osborne Garden, you can travel to the English cottage–style Shakespeare Garden with 80 flowers, shrubs, and herbs. Below are a few favorite sections.
Cherry Esplanade - The double-flowering ‘Kanzan’ cherries typically bloom at the end of April. Since we visited in June, we missed the blooms, but the area was perfect for dozens of people to lie in the shade beneath the trees.
Along the eastern and western edges of Cherry Esplanade are the Liberty Oaks, planted in remembrance of those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.
Steinhardt Conservatory - A huge glass-enclosed complex holding a wide variety of plants from different climates.
Bonsai Museum - Who doesn’t love Bonsai trees? The Steinhardt Conservatory houses a world-class bonsai collection that includes trees that are well over a century old. The collection is one of the largest outside Japan.
Desert Pavilion - A little bit of Arizona in the heart of Brooklyn. One side of the pavilion is devoted to plants from both North and South America while the other side features plants from Africa, Madagascar, the Canary Islands, and Australia.
Tropical Pavilion - This pavilion is 65 feet tall so you can imagine the displays are very striking. The lush vegetation features plants from the Amazon, African rainforest, and Tropical rainforests.
Aquatic House and Orchid Collection - Ferns, mosses, orchids, and waterfalls, what more could you want? The Garden’s collection of several thousand orchids is on display here.
Debbie and I had a wonderful afternoon here. If you're spending a day in Brooklyn, the Garden is an easy yes
After our lovely visit, we walked to nearby Franklin Avenue for dinner. The bustling strip features a variety of restaurants, and we stopped at Chavela’s, a wonderful Mexican restaurant.
We then jumped on the subway for an easy ride back to Manhattan.
This post was researched and written by John O'Boyle of The Empty Nest Explorers.
John is a professional photographer whose work has been published by the New York Times, NBC News, and Getty Images. He has been part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team and nominated for New York Emmy Awards. You can learn more about John and the Empty Nest Explorers here.
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