Grasagarður Botanical Garden

About Grasagarður Botanical Garden

Grasagarður Reykjavíkur, the Reykjavík Botanic Garden, is a free outdoor garden in Laugardalur, the large green valley east of the city centre that also holds the city's biggest swimming pool and the Park and Zoo. The city founded it in 1961, when it received a gift of 200 Icelandic plants to conserve, and that collection of Iceland's native flora is still the oldest part of the garden.

Today the garden conserves around 3,000 plant species, subspecies and cultivars in eight collections, covering plants that grow in northern temperate climates. The garden serves conservation, education and research, but for visitors it is simply a well-kept place to walk among labelled beds, trees and shrubs and see what can be grown this far north. Summer is the best time to visit, when the outdoor beds are in growth and the café and guided tours are running.

The grounds can be visited at any time and entry is free. The display greenhouse is open from 10:00 to 19:00 in summer and from 10:00 to 15:00 in winter. The garden café, Flóran, sits in the greenhouse and serves food and drinks using ingredients grown in the garden; it operates in the summer season, so check its hours before planning a visit around it. From June to August there are free guided tours in English every Friday at 12:40, and the garden holds events through the summer.

The garden is accessible for wheelchair users. It is easy to combine with a swim at Laugardalslaug, a visit to the Park and Zoo next door, or the old washing pools in the valley.