Discover one of Melbourne's most popular hiking tracks, with our guide to the 1000 Steps/Kokoda Track Memorial Walk in the Dandenong Ranges National Park.
Melbourne
Alexandra Gardens, Kew
The best free botanic gardens and parks to visit in Melbourne
Melbourne has dozens of beautiful free parks and gardens you can visit. Here is a guide to some of the best urban parks for leisurely strolls and picnics with friends and family.
Victoria is home to some of Australia’s best parks and gardens, many of which can be found in Melbourne. The cherry on top? Many of these green spaces are free to visit and open to the public almost every single day of the year.
Located across every corner of the city, from the outer suburbs to the inner city, these free-to-visit parks and gardens are ideal for a walk, picnic or even for inspiring your next home garden or landscaping project.
Here’s our guide to the best free parks and gardens in Melbourne.
The best free gardens and parks in Melbourne
Victoria State Rose Garden, Werribee Park
There are more than 5,000 roses to enjoy at Victoria State Rose Garden, a five-hectare expanse located within the grounds of the Werribee Park tourist precinct. The vibrant flower park was awarded the International Garden of Excellence by the World Federation Of Rose Societies in 2003 – making it first rose garden outside of Europe to receive the award. November and March are the best times of the year to visit, though blooms can be seen from October through to July.
Where: Gate 2, K Road, Werribee South. Located adjacent to The Mansion.
Open: Open daily. Apr-Sep, 9.30am-5pm; Oct-Mar, 9.30am-6pm.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne
When it comes to public gardens, Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens is a gem. Extending over 38ha, more than 8,500 species from around the world have been curated across a variety of themed garden designs. This much-loved Melbourne attraction is a great place to visit at any time of year. Highlights include the Fern Gully, the Children's Garden, the Herb and Medicinal Garden, the Australian Rare and Threatened Species collection, and Guilfoyle's Volcano.
Where: Birdwood Avenue, Melbourne.
Open: Daily 7.30am-7.30pm.
Williamstown Botanic Gardens
If you're visiting Williamstown Beach, it's well worth extending your day to include the botanic gardens located across the road. Williamstown Botanic Gardens opened in 1860, making it one of Melbourne's first public gardens. Be sure to stroll along the palm avenue before relaxing on one of the expansive grassy lawns for a picnic.
Where: 97-99 Osborne Street, Williamstown.
Open: Daily.
Alfred Nicholas Memorial Garden is beautiful year-round, but autumn can be particularly spectacular. Image: Visit Victoria.
Alfred Nicholas Memorial Garden, Sherbrooke
From cascading waterfalls and scenic walking tracks to ornamental lakes and flowering gullies, Alfred Nicholas Memorial Garden is a great destination for young and old. Originally the garden of the historic Burnham Beeches estate, the verdant public haven, set across 13ha of majestic Dandenong Ranges terrain, is a feast for all the senses. Visit in autumn to see many of the trees by the lake burst into shades of red, orange and gold.
Where: 1A Sherbrooke Rd, Sherbrooke.
Open: Daily 10am-5pm, except Christmas Day and during extreme weather or catastrophic fire danger ratings.
More: The best day trips from Melbourne
Carlton Gardens, Carlton
North of Melbourne’s CBD you’ll find the city’s only World Heritage Site. The Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens were added to the UNESCO list in 2004, making it one of only two sites in Victoria to achieve World Heritage Status (Budj Bim, in the state’s south west, was officially recognised in 2019). Designed by Joseph Reed, and combining elements from the Byzantine, Romanesque, Lombardic and Italian Renaissance styles, it is one of a few remaining examples of a Palace of Industry, a relic of the international exhibition movement that blossomed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Where: 1-111 Carlton St, Carlton.
Open: Daily.
Fitzroy Gardens, East Melbourne
It wouldn’t be a list of Melbourne’s best parks and gardens without the popular green hangout Fitzroy Gardens. The heritage-listed 26ha park, located on the CBD's eastern fringe, is one of Melbourne’s most historic, not to mention attractive, gardens. For spectacular floral displays, make a beeline for The Conservatory. Housed in a Spanish mission-style building, the horticultural haven has five floral displays each year. From September to November, it's Schizanthus/Calceolaria season, offering a vibrant display of pink and purple flowers. Fitzroy Gardens is also home to Cook's Cottage (the original UK family home of Captain Cook) and a model Tudor village.
Where: Wellington Parade, East Melbourne.
Open: Daily.
Carlton Gardens is one of Melbourne's iconic green spaces and close to the CBD. Image: Visit Victoria.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne
The Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne is a stunning celebration of Australia's native flora, featuring more than 100,000 plants from nearly 2,000 plant species, of which more than 450 are indigenous. As well as its stellar seed resume, the contemporary native landscape boasts more than 10km of walking tracks, 6km of cycling tracks, a lookout tower, barbecues and playgrounds. Pack a picnic lunch and find a table at one of the many picturesque shelters, or stop in at the Boon Wurrung Café, which overlooks the Red Sand Garden, for a toasted sandwich, coffee or sweet treat.
Where: Ballarto Road and, Botanic Drive, Cranbourne.
Open: Daily, 9am-5pm (last entry 4.30pm). Closed Christmas Day.
George Pentland Botanic Gardens, Frankston
When it comes to pretty coastal parklands, George Pentland Botanic Gardens is up there with some of the best. This hidden green oasis, in the middle of Frankston, has become a go-to eco escape, set against a backdrop of undulating grassy expanses and native garden beds. The park, which recently reopened to the public after substantial improvement works, has a kids playground, ornamental lake, walking tracks and plenty of picnic and barbecue facilities.
Where: 41N Williams St, Frankston.
Open: Nov-Mar, 7am-9pm; Apr-Oct, 7am-6pm.
Australian native plants take the spotlight at the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne. Image: Visit Victoria.
Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden, Olinda
Often referred to as Melbourne’s premier cool-climate garden, this mountain beauty – formerly The National Rhododendron Garden – is a technicolour masterpiece. Blanketed with more than 15,000 rhododendrons, 12,000 azaleas, 3,000 camellias and 250,000 daffodils, as well as breathtaking views over the Yarra Valley, the garden’s ever-changing landscape is a year-round delight.
Where: The Georgian Rd, Olinda.
Open: Daily, 10am-5pm (last entry 4.30pm).
Altona Coastal Park, Altona
This stunning 70ha reserve is an important coastal wetland and nature conservation area, which is located 11km from Melbourne's CBD. Consisting of intertidal salt marsh communities as well as mangrove habitats and mudflats, Altona Coastal Park provides vital food and shelter to resident and migratory shorebirds. The area is part of the Cheetham and Altona Important Bird Area, with at least 149 species recorded here, of which 13 are rare or endangered. There are paved and unpaved walking tracks, cycling trails, and Altona Dog Beach is also nearby. Sometimes periods of heavy or prolonged rain cause the Racecourse Road crossing of Kororoit Creek to be shut, and you need to access the park via Altona Road instead.
Where: Racecourse Road, Seaholme.
Open: Daily.
Melton Botanic Garden, Melton
This community garden and education space is the passion project of the Friends of the Melton Botanic Garden. The sprawling park offers visitors a range of themed gardens, including an Eastern Australian Dryland Garden, a Mediterranean Garden, Sensory garden, Victorian Volcanic Plains garden, and even a Bushfoods garden. Walk, scoot or cycle ride around the Botanic Trail, which laps around the lake, check out the eucalyptus arboretum, and keep an eye our for local wildlife. You can even visit the on-site nursery if the garden's diverse flora and fauna has provided inspiration for your own backyard.
Where: 40 Lakewood Blvd, Melton.
Open: Daily.
Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden offers a range of sensory experiences. Image: Visit Victoria.
Karwarra Australian Native Botanic Garden, Kalorama
Established in 1965, Karwarra Australian Native Botanic Garden is one of Melbourne’s hidden jewels and is one of the few public gardens that features exclusively native plants. With more than 1,400 different species spread across two hectares, the idyllic oasis offers visitors a unique opportunity to learn how to incorporate native plants and create low-maintenance gardens that are more water efficient, heat tolerant and drought resistant. There is also an on-site plant nursery, as well as picnic tables and barbecue facilities at nearby Kalorama Memorial Reserve.
Where: Kalorama Memorial Reserve 1190-, 1192 Mount Dandenong Tourist Rd, Kalorama.
Open: Tue-Fri, 10am-4pm; Sat-Sun, 1-4pm. Closed public holidays and during catastrophic fire danger ratings.
Alexandra Gardens, Kew
The magnificent, Edwardian-style grounds of Alexandra Gardens are a short walk from the Kew Junction shopping precinct. The gardens are a fine example of Federation landscape, featuring expansive lawns fringed by avenues of mature trees and evergreen borders. Bring a book and sit back in the decorative rotunda overlooking a glimmering lily pond, and escape the daily hustle and bustle.
Where: 64 Cotham Rd, Kew.
Open: Daily.
Wilson Botanic Park, Berwick
The 39ha Wilson Botanic Park is a nature lover’s paradise, brimming with more than 1,000 different plant species (both native and exotic), plus 80 different species of birds, as well as turtles, frogs, lizards and snakes. Bird watchers will love the Bird Hide, which is perched at the edge of a glittering Basalt Lake, while history buffs will enjoy the guided geo-heritage tour. Visit the Hoo Hoo Tower while there to experience commanding views over the Berwick district and beyond.
Where: 668 Princes Hwy, Berwick.
Open: Daily, 7am-6pm; daylight savings, 7am-9pm.
