Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

I went on the first Sunday of the Month in December 2025. Was it cold outside, not too bad for Ohio. There are defined areas. I would recommend visiting during the butterflies and during the night for the lights. There are paths for accessibility (and strollers). The place was decorated for the holidays. Take a little time and walk around. Appreciate the hard work from many people. The indoor part can be seen within 1.5 hours easily

The Franklin Park Conservatory is absolutely perfect for families with infants and toddlers. The space is clean, calm, and so thoughtfully designed that little ones can explore safely while parents actually get to relax and enjoy the experience. The indoor gardens are beautiful year-round, stroller-friendly, and engaging without being overwhelming, which is such a win when you have young kids. One of the best parts is that they offer free admission on the first Sunday of every month for Franklin County residents, making it so accessible for local families. It’s an amazing way to get out of the house, enjoy nature, and create meaningful memories without stress or pressure. We always leave feeling refreshed, and our kids are happy and curious the entire time. Highly recommend for parents looking for a peaceful, enriching outing with babies and toddlers.

Franklin Park is one of the most beautiful wedding venues. We got married in early November in the Palm House and our friends and family are still raving about how beautiful the space is. From the very beginning Taylor was SO responsive and sweet, answering my 100s of questions throughout the planning process. Sarah kept up the same level of customer service as we neared wedding day. We truly appreciate how helpful the whole team was in the planning process. Even though there was an event at the conservatory at the same time, the team did a great job keeping the public out of our reserved spaces. I know they have renovations planned for the Palm House so I can't speak to the future of the space, but it was the best decision I made in the wedding planning process. Highly recommend.

Things are a little scaled back at the moment because of the upcoming expansion, but it’s still beautiful and a wonderful place to relax and absorb some nature. Give them time, though - I’m sure the programming will be back to full strength once the construction is finished. In the meantime, membership remains a great value since it gets you into dozens of other conservatories, botanical gardens, arboreta, etc. free around the country.

My Granddaughter and her Fiancée were just Married here 11-8-25. The Franklin Park Conservatory is absolutely Beautiful for a wedding. Beautiful plants, Blown glass art, the people setting up, everything was perfect. The grounds are gorgeous for pictures, and just to walk around see topiary, plants, trees. Gorgeous place to visit, take pictures to take with family, etc.

I haven't been to the Franklin Park Conservatory for over 40 years and my girlfriend has never been so what better way to spend our one year anniversary than to spend a day enjoying all the beautiful sights and smells😊. It was better than I remembered! I was even better at night seeing the place lit up for the Pumpkins Aglow event. I was very romantic and the smiles she had was priceless 😍

I felt the price was about $5 to high. However, we booked for 5:30 entry and it was still daylight and have to have the children home at a certain time so they didn’t get to see the cool stuff come to life til we left. I understand it’s a wedding venue as I got married there at Christmas time. So we missed out on seeing the Palm house. Not spooky at all. Great for kids of all ages. Just wish the prices were lower so even the kids that come from low income families could enjoy it too.

Even during the winter the conservatory is full of life, color, and peaceful places to take it all in. The glass art collection flows seamlessly with the natural environment and is absolutely beautiful to see. Everyone in the family enjoyed their experience. The kids loved the Koi pond and outdoor kids area.

This was easily the most fun part of our trip to Columbus! When my wife initially suggested we visited a botanical garden, my instinctive reaction was to roll my eyes. When we approached our destination, I was immediately drawn to the Dale Chihuly glass art near the reception desk. As we continued through the building I was delighted to find More and more of his art spread throughout the garden. The way the artwork was seem mostly woven in with the various garden elements was enchanting, and I ended up walking through each room at least twice. I was delighted, relaxed, and visually stimulated. The outer gardens were also very impressive, but for me personally the highlight was the inner gardens. I hope to come back someday.

If you really enjoy botanical gardens you should come here. The entrance fee, if you're not a member, is $25.20. The highlight for me was the miniature railroad with trains! The kids would love it! There were also really pretty flowers, sculptures, and plants.

Worth a visit, but pricey. Nice grounds and pretty flowers. Train exhibit outside was different and well done. Weddings taking place were a distraction to our visit.

We're in love with the conservatory! Gotta have an annual pass if you live in Columbus and have kids!

This is such a beautiful and charming botanical garden! We really appreciated all the detail put into making this place beautiful and engaging for visitors. There are lots of engaging activities for children and beautiful glass pieces woven into each garden. My only suggestion is that it gets very humid and sunny on hot days, especially since many of the gardens are open to the outdoors, so would definitely recommend coming on a cooler day.

My sister and I went to conservatory aglow on new years eve and had a grear time. We loved all the festive lights and interactive elements. The igloos were a great way to stop and take a break, they had games inside as well. It was great raining when we went so we didn't stay too long but I'll definitely be back.

So much fun wish the website said you needed to buy tickets for Halloween so we didn't show up empty handed but amazingly some one gifted my daughter and I entrance.

Came here for blooms and butterflies. It was a great day with family! You can spend all day here. The butterflies were flying everywhere!! The tulips were kind of dying which was sad but that's okay. I hope they plant more soon

Truly a beautiful place. I visited when the flowers were blooming. It was breathtaking break from everything going on in life.

Amazing visit regardless of the season. Spring is butterflies and blooms, summer is a great time to splash in the water in the kids garden, fall of course is pumpkin and ghosts, and winter is a holiday wonderland. Year round experience inside and out!

This is a MUST visit during your time in Columbus. I was hesitant, but let me tell you, it is so worth it!! Admission is a fair price for all that the conservatory has to offer, I believe I paid $25.00. The inside area is broken down into several different environments and is loaded to the brim with plants. In addition the plants, the conservatory also offers options for dining and several different interactive areas for kids. The best time to visit is during their pumpkins aglow exhibit where entire inside and outside is covered in fall decor and pumpkins carved by the staff.

Came to the conservatory as one of the stops for my daughter's birthday celebration and we had a great experience. Beautiful garden with countless variations of plants from allover the world. Our favorite exhibit is the south garden, aka the special butterfly garden, so happy we made it before the season is over. There are so much to see with everything is manicured and beautiful in its own way. It was wonderful to immersed in the calmness that nature brings. Don't forget to check out the glass blowing class and the miniature train world in the garden. Convenient food court that serves snacks for kids and drinks for adults which is great. And an outdoor kiosk that serves cold treats Ticket price is about $20+ per person with minimal discount for military, seniors and more. Friendly services from working staff all around. Ample parkings all around the conservatory. This is a very family friendly facility filled with fun for everyone. Highly recommended by @WineDinenVacay

More than anything, I was interested in Dale Chihuly's glass artwork. There are currently 18 installations on display. My favorite piece was the sunset chandelier. I'm a bit bummed I missed a couple of them though. When we went, it was quite hot and humid. We sped walked to look at the Children's Garden, Grand Mallway, and Conservatory Building. In the children's garden, there were kids enjoying water play in the sandstone creek. There are also lots of areas for free play. Currently at the grand mallway, Paul Busse's Garden Railway is on display- cute! There is 1122 feet of train track with themed destinations. The conservatory is the main area and is where all the glasswork is found. There are different biomes in the conservatory, but the Pacific Island Water Garden was my favorite spot. It is where the sunset chandelier is displayed. During our visit, the Blooms & Butterflies exhibition was also taking place. There were colorful butterflies flying around the garden. Aside from the heat, I enjoyed my time here!

If you love flowers this is a must visit. So many beautiful options and its especially great when its cold outside. Grab something to drink and sit and enjoy the view. Love the special events and the exhibits that change throughout the year.

What a great place to spend the afternoon walking around and looking at the amazing and beautiful plants and flowers. They really do have every kind here. But the highlight to this magical place were the trains. They did such a wonderful display of all the trains going through cute little towns. We were fortunate enough to have visited while they had the butterfly collection. Looking forward to going back.

As a solo traveler on my business trip, I was looking for something to do on my bonus day here in Columbus and this popped up on my search. I went on a Saturday afternoon and it was super crowded with families. Entrance fee is $24, but if you have a AAA membership, you get a $1 off. So in total, it was $23. It is a great destination if you have kids. They have plenty of things to do for kids to get their ya-yas out. For me, as an adult, it was a cute botanical garden. My favorite area was the butterfly sanctuary. They have a metamorphosis window where you can see butterflies come out of their cocoon, reminiscent of Eric Carle's Very Hungry Caterpillar. The butterflies come up really close and they are so colorful. It would have been cool if they had the train running in the railroad garden. They have the Chihuly glass sculptures but I have already seen that in Seattle. They also have an instructor in the hot area doing glass blowing demos. But again, I already saw that in Puerto Vallarta. You can go through everything in 1.5 hours. A good one and done place to go to if you have a day in Columbus.

I always visit Conservatories when I travel and this is one of the great ones. It's probably best to give yourself a day if you want to try to check out (close to) all of it. We stuck the main greenhouses and were knocked out by the butterfly display.

I grew up going to the Franklin Park Conservatory and as a kid I was always in amazement at how wonderful and beautiful that place was and still is. My family and I reside in the old town east part of town and I was always happy to take my children through that beautiful beautiful botanical garden when they were young. Columbus is fortunate to have such a wonderful place that families can come and share their experiences together.

Wonderful conservatory. Their Christmas displays are marvelous. They have a wonderful Koi pond with the biggest Koi I've ever seen. This display also has many water features. Just lovely. There are evening light displays for Christmas, but we were unable to attend. We did get a peek at the lights while driving past and it looked like it would be a lot of fun to see. There is Chihuly glass throughout the facility. One can even watch a glass blower on sight and attend classes in glass blowing. The glass bulbs on the various Christmas trees were all made at the Conservatory. They have a lovely Gift Shop with items for everyone. There is also a café that has good choices. I noticed people brought their own food and that was allowed. There is plenty of parking and the staff is very friendly. I will definitely attend again when I'm in the area again. I hear at some point they have a butterfly display. I'm told I shouldn't miss that.

On the first Sunday of every month Franklin County residents receive free admission to Franklin Park Conservatory. It was understandably crowded, especially since the Blooms & Butterflies exhibit just opened so I looked at as many butterflies as I could and booked it out of there. The conservatory is a Columbus staple and a must for out of town visitors. Just be sure to go on a weekday if crowds are not your thing.

This is one of our favorite botanical gardens in the country. Friendly staff and beautiful gardens with Dale Chihuly glass sculpture plus they had Lego sculptures this visit and a gorgeous day to boot made this visit a hit. Remember if you have a botanical garden membership anywhere you may be able to get in free. It's saved us money many times over and a great bargain. Oh, I forgot to mention that the butterfly exhibit in the North Garden is impressive. We have never seen so many butterflies at once.

I can't believe I haven't written a review for one of my favorite places in the city. Open daily 10am-4pm. We have been going to the Conservatory for years and every visiting here is memorable and delightful year round. Love spending time at the botanical gardens and conservatory. Any visit is great but if you get a chance check out the butterflies, and the Conservatory aglow for Halloween & the Holiday lights. You can also check out membership options to get regular admission at no cost, or discounted for special events. We have a duo membership level and just started our fourth year. Members also enjoy the Reciprocal Admissions Program: The Conservatory is part of the Reciprocal Admissions Program, and offers free or discounted admission to members of 300 participating gardens. We try to plan visits whenever we are traveling and there is one in the listing. When at the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens make sure to visit the gift shop and if hungry you can grab a bite at the cafe.

We stumbled along this amazing destination while searching for a park to kill some time before heading to the airport. It's only about 12 minutes away from CMH. The exhibits, architecture and property were all absolutely beautiful and we felt like we had stepped into the set of a movie. The current live butterfly exhibit was amazing and the scale and unique atmosphere of each exhibit left us craving more time to explore. We only had about 35 minutes and it was nowhere near enough but we were just thankful to be able to check it out for the short time that we had.

They definitely took it up a notch this year with the holiday lights display. They added igloos, a candy land display, more lights in the children's garden and finally....food trucks! Holiday music and the boozy hot chocolate bar (from last year) were the only things missing that would have made it a full five star experience. The gift shop was jam packed with all kinds of new unique holiday merch - great place to pick up holiday gifts.

Plentiful parking. Wonderful place to spend half the day. Lots of in door to see. Lovely gift shop too.

This place is great for plant lovers and families. They separate the plants based on their climates, which you can feel as you walk through and take in all of the foliage. Between all of the rooms, the hallways are lined with various plants, different every season. In some places, it is not clear what direction the walkways go and you might walk through the same area twice. Every season there are also different exhibits, so every visit here may not be the same. They also have a seasonal butterfly blooming exhibit where you can walk through a mist of butterflies. If you want small plants or memorabilia of your own, there is a gift shop near the entrance as well as a cafe. This is a great place to visit during the weekend.

An amazing botanical garden perfect at all times of the year, especially around Halloween and Christmas. A perfect place to bring family and friends who are visiting. The air quality in here is like no other. Such a calming treat!

A great experience even in the summer (i.e. no butterflies) if you can handle the heat! We were very hot and sticky by the time we left, but it was still a lovely time. Lots of well-cared for plants, with some information about each biome as you walked through it. The train garden and surrounding area were highlights for us all, and I also really liked the bonsai exhibit, though more information there would have been nice. The spaces were beautifully designed and maintained. The gift shop is also very sweet, with lots of gardening equipment and even some seeds and plants available to buy! Well worth the price of admission. I hope to return on a cooler day, maybe in the fall sometime.

Aglow. The Christmas lights at the conservatory are outstanding. Just another great reason to spend time here. During the winter holidays this place is magical. The lighting display is the best in town. Hands down. Very detailed and thought out. There are a tunnel of lights, toy train rails, gingerbread house and other cool displays. Food trucks, hot chocolate, alcohol and toe tapping music. So fun! Perfect way to spend an evening for families, couples, friends and just about everyone. A negative is that Aglow may be cost prohibitive for folks on a budget. Make sure you are dressed for the weather and have on the right shoes to make it even more enjoyable. Also it recommended you get your tickets in advance on line. It will start getting crowded about an hour after the 5:00pm opening.

I got a membership so I obviously love this place! The conservatory is beautiful and their current exhibit of Butterflies & Blooms is a joy. The actual conservatory is smaller than others I've been to, but the biomes are extremely well-crafted. The Chihuly glass sculptures throughout are very cool. The glass blowing demonstrations in the Hot Shop are awesome. The grounds of the botanical gardens are lovely. I'm planning to use my membership just to hang out on the grounds sometimes. The current arches exhibit outside is fun. The Children's Garden is surprisingly extensive, with lots of opportunities for children's free play. You could easily spend a relaxing day here with your family if you bring a picnic. They also have so many cool events, I really loved their Pumpkins A-Glow event and hope to visit for other events soon.

Lovely conservatories with Chihuly sculptures as part of the landscape as well as decorative. Highlight was visiting the Hot Pot where we watched an expert glass blower make an amazing mushroom!

Wow, this place is incredible and anyone visiting Columbus needs to stop by here. It helped that the weather was beautiful, but we had such a good time. It may seem pricy, but absolutely worth it I am from Seattle and was surprised at all the great Chihuly pieces and how well they were integrated into the gardens. It all looked really stunning. The gardens are organized into different climates, but all are worth visiting. Some are inside, some are outside. One of the most amazing things was this huge set of model trains build around plants. I cannot imagine how much time this took to make. It is so thoughtful and well-designed--you could spend a day just looking at this. We also ate at cafe. It has limited selections, but was good. If you visit, plan to spend at least two hours--but could easily be four or five.

Decided to attend the Pumpkins Aglow event held here. First visit, I was taken aback by the beautiful vegetation. They were having glass blowing classes which we watched a bit of. Walking through each section of the conservatory I was fascinated by the plants in each section. The grounds were decorated for fall activities with various pumpkins, lights and each area had different activities. Wet pleasant visit, I plan to go back during Christmas! My only criticism would be better mapping, perhaps arrows on the paths to indicate direction. It was my first time and there were a lot of people so I was pretty confused at times. I did take photos of a map they had posted, but I had to keep referring back to my phone.

This is such a fun place to visit especially if you check out the culture pass from the library!

Went on a date night to the Conservatory a few nights ago for the first time. We decided to go to the A-Glow to get into the Christmas spirit and we had a good time. It was definitely different then I imagined. Upon walking in you have to give the from desk your ticket even if you paid online because they have to take it and give you a map but the map was a little confusing. It had the layout of the spots but didn't tell you which was you needed to go to see everything like your suppose too. We figured it out on our own but no big deal would have just saved us a little time. The outdoor Christmas lights were amazing, very bright and beautiful and it wasn't packed so you could walk as fast or slow as you'd like. Really get to enjoy it. The inside was nice but not a lot in the main building but in the outside entrance doors you could go into the plant rooms which was my favorite party, so beautiful and amazing seeing all the types of plants and water falls but it wasn't labeled on the map they were even there so we had to find them on our own. Glad we just start exploring. Over all it was a cool experience and we enjoyed it and would love to go back during the summer to experience it a little more but I would say 3/5 stars.

The tulips were stunning at our visit. The butterfly area was one of our kid's favorite spots. They loved the mix of the butterflies and koi pond. The outside area was perfect to let the kids explore. The sandbox and trains are usually are go to spots outside. The restaurant had a delicious chicken salad sandwich. The kids enjoyed the French fries. Overall it was a great day exploring the grounds inside and outside the conservatory

Franklin Park is my favorite place in Columbus. I've had a membership on and off for years. Ohio can bring you down a bit in the winter and I love having a semi-tropical escape where you can get some fresh air and green. I'd recommend a membership if you plan to go more than twice per year, but I absolutely love it here.

I love botanical gardens and this one is superb. My husband only goes because I love gardens so much but even he was impressed. I think they recommend 2 to 3 hours for your visit. We were there well over 4 hours, enjoying the gardens leisurely. I was most impressed with the topiary designs and the Chihuly glass scluptures that were located throughout tge gardens. It was fun to just look up and there be a peacock or a bison or a lion staring at you. Or to walk around a corner and see a Dale Chihuly art piece. The bonsai were also impressive. There are QR codes on a lot of the displays that tell you interesting facts about the topiaries. They also have a resident glass blower who makes pieces for the gift shop. He does demonstrations throughout the day and it was very interesting. Gardens are well laid out and map is easy to follow. It was not real crowded but maybe because it is so huge. They also have a cafe but we didn't eat so can't speak to that and of course a gift shop. Loved this garden

Community day is a great way to spend your day, First Sunday of every month. Today they had BalletMet 2 performing, which was extra special because I got to see my son dance after 1year. So you can enjoy the conservatory, gardens and see a special event, it's free but tickets are required. Everything is always landscaped and you cannot beat the serenity of the different rooms. Everyone is sure to find something special that they like at the conservatory.

The park is beautiful, the butterflies are gorgeous, the Chihuly pieces lovely. I took two points off because the woman manning the butterfly garden is THE RUDEST. Horrendous, zero service, mean, no manners. Y'all need to train her.

A ticket here costs quite a bit (~$20 when I came); the question is whether you get anything special for it. And this was a robust collection of plant life, punctuated by luminous glass art. I came wondering whether the indoor section would be big enough given the dodgy weather outside, and it included multiple greenhouses, regionally themed and ranging from plants of the Pacific Islands to those of Nepal. You can certainly spend some time exploring them, and a fairly substantial cafe and gift shop await as well. The outdoor section is largely marked as a children's garden, which irks me a bit. Do you have to be under 18 to enjoy carnivorous plants? The swamp section displayed some remarkably effective pitcher plants, as well as Venus flytraps and sundews. If you come at the right time, you can watch glass making as well. The place is dynamic and well-maintained, and you can definitely see that some money went into it. If I were local, I'd probably say it's worth splurging on membership.

Enjoyed christmas lights with my family. The model train setup was the primary reason we attended. There was a lot of people traffic but we enjoyed the event. Parking: ample dedicated spaces. Ambience: christmas light themed outdoors with the beautiful botanic gardens indoors - and several photo taking stations for family pics! Service: good. Checkin was easy- displayed ticket barcodes for them to scan us in. Quality of lights and exhibit: great quality! If you're okay with being outdoors in the cold and people traffic, the lights and exhibits will be worth it! This place is family friendly - saw many kids and families attend. If you get hungry, no worries- there were places for snacks and a drink (non-adult). Wish the event came with free hot chocolate! Covid precautions: mask indoors only. People took them off for indoor group pics. Price: $

This place is beautiful and the staff are all very friendly. Nice place to go on a Sunday morning before brunch. Very good for kids to learn about different plants and environments. Ultimately, I don't think it's worth the price, but I do know they offer specials on some days. We were on our way to the airport so we spent about an hour and a half here but could definitely spend at least a couple hours. When we were leaving close to 1130 the crowd and lines were getting bigger.

While my very first trip to FPC will be hard to beat, it certainly won't be my last and I can't wait to go back. My friend and I rushed to buy tickets this past weekend so we could catch a glimpse of the Titan Arum aka Corpse Plant blooming. We're both plant nerds and with not much else to do due to the pandemic, the opportunity popped up at the perfect time. Finally something cool happening in 2020!! We purchased our tickets ahead of time, on their website. They are currently pacing out visitors, which allows guests to safely social distance. Masks are also required at all times. We arrived shortly after eleven in the morning and we browsed around before finally jumping in line to see this giant, smelly plant specimen. We waited roughly thirty minutes before having our few moments with Bob (that's what they've named him, haha). While he didn't quite smell, he was still fascinating and I'm so glad we went. After we knocked that off our list of sights to see, we checked out the other biodoms and exhibits. I really enjoyed seeing the bonsai plants and how things were set up to change your perspective. The Chihuly artwork is also mesmerizing and I totally come back for a Chihuly Nights experience. Columbus is really fortunate to have a conservatory and if you haven't checked it out quite yet, do it!!!

I have been a big fan of the Franklin Park Conservatory for years and despite having a membership, went last night for the first time all year. As usual, it was an amazing experience. We attended an event called Chihuly nights, featuring an artist named Dale Chihuly who creates beautiful blown glass sculptures. They also are currently featuring a plant called a corpse flower, which only blooms every few years. We were able to tour their various greenhouses with different temperatures and climates bringing unique wildlife to each. They are also currently featuring a huge train exhibit by Paul Busse as well as have an entire new children's section. The children's garden is absolutely incredible. It's full of different mediums for kids to play, read, learn, and explore their creativity in various ways. I honestly could have probably stayed there all day. There were also many signs up reminding people to stay six feet apart and plenty of hand sanitizer stations. Masks were required the entire duration of the visit. If you are looking for something to do, I definitely recommend adding this place to your list!

Wow, I'm mad I haven't been sooner! This place has it all. Botanicals, play areas, music, surrounded by a manicured park. Saw several OSU football players running laps at the park. Also on every first Sunday of the month Franklin county residents get in free... now that's the best part!

The butterflies are back! I was so excited to go back and check this place out. I had memories of visiting here as a child and it was cool to go back as an adult and take it all in. We went on a Sunday and it wasn't overly crowded, plenty of space and tons of great exhibits to check out. Big fan of all of the glass work as well.

Husband and I were first timers at this conservatory and we were quite impressed with the number of different sections to it. It was quite large, with a desert area, a jungle type room, a holiday train, a beautiful palm room, bonsais, an awesome gingerbread collection to name just a few and all throughout it was the breath-taking work of Dale Chihuly. Every time we turned a corner, we were amazed by another room full of healthy, gorgeous plants and décor. There was even a barbershop type quartet performing while we were there. The grounds were also neat to walk around and no charge for that. We loved our visit and will be back when in the area.

Nice relaxing park full of flowers play area for the children outdoors, just 20.00 bucks for seniors. This is a beautiful place to visit.