Chelsea Physic Garden is closed on Saturdays. It opens Monday to Friday and on Sunday, 11am to 5pm, and shuts on the one day most people would try to go.
The second thing worth knowing is that the headline price is optional. Adult entry is listed as 15 pounds or 13.50, and the difference is a voluntary donation. You are allowed to pay the lower figure, and the garden says so on its own ticket page rather than burying it.
What it costs, including the two for one
Adults: 15 pounds including the voluntary donation, or 13.50 without.
Students and young people aged 5 to 25: 6.50 pounds, or 5 without the donation. The same rate applies to anyone on Universal Credit or Pension Credit, and to people with refugee status. Proof or identification is required on arrival for all of these.
Children under 5 go free, and so do Historic Houses Association members, who need only bring their card.
A carer, personal assistant or companion accompanying a visitor is admitted free.
There is also a flexible ticket at 16 pounds, valid for one visit at any point within three months of booking, which is a pound more than the standard adult rate and removes the need to pick a day.
Now the discount almost nobody uses. The garden runs two for one entry through National Rail Days Out and through BBC Gardeners World. Book online by choosing the 2-4-1 admission option, or ask at the front desk, and bring proof of the offer. That turns two adult tickets into 15 pounds rather than 30.
The hours, and the hour before them
Monday to Friday and Sunday, 11am to 5pm. Closed Saturday.
Friends of the garden are let in from 10am, a full hour before everyone else. On a bright Sunday in summer that hour is the entire difference between a quiet garden and a busy one, and it is the main practical argument for joining.
Booking online is possible but not required. Walk ups are accepted.
Getting there
The public entrance is at 66 Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, SW3 4HS.
Sloane Square, on the District and Circle lines, is the nearest station. From the exit, cross the road, turn left into Lower Sloane Street, right at the lights into Royal Hospital Road, then continue past the National Army Museum, across Tite Street, and along a brick wall on your left until the entrance.
The 170 bus to Victoria stops directly outside, which is the single most convenient bus stop of any garden in London.
By car there are pay by phone meters around the garden. The alternative is pay and display in Battersea Park, a ten minute walk across Albert Bridge, which is usually easier at a weekend.
There is motorcycle parking in Swan Walk and bicycle racks on Royal Hospital Road and nearby. Bicycles are not allowed inside the garden.
What it actually is
A walled botanic garden of medicinal and useful plants, founded for the study of what plants do rather than how they look. That is why it is called a physic garden and why the planting is arranged by use and origin rather than by colour.
It is small. An hour and a half is a full visit, and there is a cafe on site.
How to plan it
Not Saturday. That is the whole trick.
Two of you: use the two for one, through National Rail Days Out or BBC Gardeners World, and bring the proof.
Paying less: ask for the 13.50 rate, which is the price without the voluntary donation.
Driving at a weekend: park in Battersea Park and walk over Albert Bridge.
It sits between the river and the King’s Road, so it pairs with our Chelsea guide and with Battersea Power Station, which is up the river on the other bank.
Chelsea Physic Garden
- Address
- 66 Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London SW3 4HS
- Nearest
- Sloane Square, on the District and Circle lines. The 170 bus to Victoria stops directly outside
- Hours
- Monday to Friday and Sunday, 11am to 5pm. Closed Saturday. Friends enter from 10am
- Booking
- Online, though walk ups are accepted
- Price
- Adults 15 pounds including a voluntary donation, or 13.50 without. Students and young people aged 5 to 25, and anyone on Universal Credit or Pension Credit or with refugee status, 6.50 pounds or 5 without the donation. Under 5s free. Flexible ticket 16 pounds, valid within three months
- Standing
- A walled botanic garden of medicinal and useful plants, between Royal Hospital Road and the river
How to get in
Two for one entry is available through National Rail Days Out and BBC Gardeners World: select 2-4-1 admission online or ask at the desk, with proof. Historic Houses Association members enter free. Bicycles are not allowed inside.
Where to go next
Chelsea covers the King’s Road end of the walk, and the parks page covers the free green space nearby.
Battersea Power Station is across Albert Bridge, and the Kyoto Garden is the other small, enclosed garden worth the journey.
Questions we get asked
Is Chelsea Physic Garden open on Saturday?
No. It opens Monday to Friday and on Sunday, 11am to 5pm, and closes on Saturdays, which catches out most weekend visitors.
How much is Chelsea Physic Garden?
Adults are 15 pounds including a voluntary donation, or 13.50 pounds without it. Students and young people aged 5 to 25 pay 6.50 or 5 pounds, as do visitors on Universal Credit or Pension Credit and those with refugee status, on production of proof. Under 5s and Historic Houses Association members go free.
Is there a discount for Chelsea Physic Garden?
Yes, two for one entry through National Rail Days Out and through BBC Gardeners World. Select the 2-4-1 admission option when booking online, or ask at the front desk, and bring proof of the offer with you.
Do you need to book Chelsea Physic Garden in advance?
No. Tickets can be booked online but walk ups are accepted. A flexible ticket at 16 pounds covers one visit at any point in the three months after booking, if you would rather not fix a date.
What is the nearest station to Chelsea Physic Garden?
Sloane Square, on the District and Circle lines. The public entrance is at 66 Royal Hospital Road, SW3 4HS, past the National Army Museum. The 170 bus to Victoria stops directly outside the garden.
Where can you park for Chelsea Physic Garden?
There are pay by phone meters in the streets around the garden, and pay and display parking in Battersea Park, a ten minute walk across Albert Bridge. Motorcycles can park in Swan Walk, and there are bicycle racks nearby, though bicycles are not allowed inside the garden.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 215 in the guide.
Last checked 5 October 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
