Check the date before you go to the Garden Museum, even if you’ve been before. It changes its hours more often than almost any museum in London, and it keeps a running list of the changes on its visit page, plus a tool it calls the Opening Time Checker.
The normal pattern is simple enough. It’s closed on Mondays, open 10am to 4pm Tuesday to Friday, and open an hour longer, 10am to 5pm, at weekends. Last admission is half an hour before closing, so the real cut-off is 3.30pm on a weekday and 4.30pm at the weekend. The Garden Café keeps its own hours, so if the café is the point of your trip, check that page separately.
The amended dates
When we looked on 6 October the list ran to seven disrupted days in ten weeks. The first two had already happened that week: closed all day on Wednesday 7 October and a late 11.30am start on Thursday 8th. Still to come were 21 October (closed from 1.30pm), 2 November (open 2pm to 5pm only), 7 November (closed from 4pm), 28 November (closed from noon) and 12 December (closed from 1.30pm).
Two of those entries have the wrong weekday attached. The museum lists “Friday 2 November” and “Monday 12 December”, but in 2026 those dates fall on a Monday and a Saturday. It’s probably a leftover from an earlier year, so go by the date rather than the day, and use the checker if you’re planning around one of them.
What it costs
An adult ticket is £16. Seniors (65 and over) pay £13, students and unemployed visitors pay £9, a National Art Pass gets you in for £8, and children from 7 to 18 pay £9. Under-7s are free. Not many museums name unemployed visitors on the price board at all; this one does, at the student rate.
The family tickets are worth asking for by name. One adult and one child is £20, against £25 bought separately. Two adults and two children is £40, against £50. That holds even if one of the children is under 7 and would be free on their own: two adults plus the older child bought separately comes to £41, so the £40 family ticket is still a pound cheaper.
Friends and Patrons, carers and members of the Community Access Scheme go in free, and a separate scheme called Neighbours gives Lambeth community organisations free entry. The museum adds that prices “may differ in future depending on programming and exhibitions”, so treat these as current rather than fixed.
Bags
There’s no cloakroom. Staff or volunteers may take small bags and coats at the front desk if they’re able to, but the museum says it can’t guarantee that and accepts no responsibility for anything left. Large bags and suitcases are turned away outright, which is worth remembering with Waterloo only twenty minutes’ walk off. Leave the case at the station.
What you’re visiting
It’s Britain’s only museum dedicated to gardens, in the former church of St Mary-at-Lambeth, right beside Lambeth Palace and across the river from Parliament. Besides the galleries there’s a courtyard garden, an archive of the working records of leading British garden designers, a shop for home gardeners and an award-winning café serving a seasonal modern European menu. The café is a reason to come in its own right.
Getting there
The museum is on Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7LB (020 7401 8865). Lambeth North is the closest station at about ten minutes’ walk. Vauxhall is fifteen minutes on foot or a ride on the 77 or 344 bus, Waterloo is twenty minutes or the 77, and Victoria is thirty minutes or the C10 and 3 buses. All four stations have step-free access, though the museum sensibly suggests checking with TfL before you travel. Groups of ten or more book separately.
Garden Museum
- Address
- Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7LB
- Nearest
- Lambeth North a 10 minute walk, Vauxhall 15 minutes or the 77 and 344 buses, Waterloo 20 minutes or the 77 bus, Victoria 30 minutes or the C10 and 3 buses
- Hours
- Closed Monday. Tuesday to Friday 10am to 4pm, weekends 10am to 5pm, with last admission half an hour before closing. The museum publishes a list of amended dates when it closes early or entirely, which should be checked before every visit
- Booking
- Online or at the door. Groups of ten or more book separately
- Price
- Adult 16 pounds, senior 65 plus 13, student 9, unemployed 9, National Art Pass 8, child 7 to 18 at 9, child 6 and under free. Family 1 of one adult and one child 20 pounds, Family 2 of two adults and two children 40. Free for Friends and Patrons, carers and Community Access Scheme members
- Standing
- Britain’s only museum dedicated to gardens, in the former church of St Mary-at-Lambeth beside Lambeth Palace and across the river from Parliament, with gardens, an archive of British garden designers and an award-winning cafe
How to get in
The museum frequently closes early or entirely for events and publishes an amended dates list, which carried seven disrupted days in the ten weeks from October 2026, so the default hours cannot be relied on. Weekends run an hour longer than weekdays, and last admission is half an hour before closing, making the real weekday cut-off 3.30pm. The cafe keeps separate hours. Unemployed visitors are explicitly listed at 9 pounds, and a National Art Pass at 8 pounds is the cheapest paid ticket. There is no cloakroom, small bags are taken at staff discretion with no guarantee or liability, and large bags and suitcases are refused.
Where to go next
Chelsea Physic Garden is the other garden worth a ticket, and the parks page covers the free green space.
The Imperial War Museum is the nearest free museum, and Kew Gardens is the full day out.
Questions we get asked
What are the Garden Museum's opening hours?
Closed Monday, Tuesday to Friday 10am to 4pm, and weekends 10am to 5pm, so weekends run an hour longer than weekdays. Last admission is half an hour before closing, which makes the real cut-off 3.30pm on a weekday and 4.30pm at a weekend. Crucially, the museum frequently closes early or entirely for events and publishes a list of amended dates, so check your specific date before travelling.
How much is the Garden Museum?
£16 for an adult, £13 for a senior aged 65 or over, £9 for a student, £9 for an unemployed visitor, £8 with a National Art Pass, £9 for a child aged 7 to 18, and free for children aged 6 and under. Family tickets are £20 for one adult and one child and £40 for two adults and two children. Friends and Patrons, carers and Community Access Scheme members go free.
Is the Garden Museum ever closed unexpectedly?
Often, and it publishes the dates. In the ten weeks from October 2026 the amended list included one full-day closure, two late openings, and four days closing early, two of them Saturdays. The museum also runs a tool called the Opening Time Checker for exactly this reason. Treat the standard hours as a default rather than a promise, and check your date each time.
Is there a discount at the Garden Museum for students or unemployed visitors?
Yes, both at £9 against a £16 adult ticket. The Garden Museum is one of very few London museums to name unemployed visitors on its price list at all, at the same rate as students. A National Art Pass is cheaper still at £8, and carers go free.
Can you leave bags at the Garden Museum?
Not reliably. There is no cloakroom. Small bags and coats may be accepted at the front desk at the discretion of staff or volunteers, but the museum states this cannot be guaranteed and accepts no responsibility for items left. Large bags and suitcases are refused outright, which matters as the museum is close to Waterloo.
Where is the Garden Museum?
On Lambeth Palace Road, SE1 7LB, in the former church of St Mary-at-Lambeth, next door to Lambeth Palace and directly across the Thames from Parliament. Lambeth North is a 10 minute walk, Vauxhall 15 minutes, Waterloo 20 minutes and Victoria 30 minutes, with the 77, 344, C10 and 3 buses serving the area.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 391 in the guide.
Last checked 6 October 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
