Home The City of Vancouver Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Park Bloedel Conservatory at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Park

Bloedel Conservatory at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Park

Bloedel Conservatory and Fountain

The Bloedel Conservatory is the indoor glass-domed garden at Queen Elizabeth Park. It’s home to over 100 free-flying birds and thousands of exotic plants.

NOTE: Bloedel Conservatory will be closed to the public from October 28th, 2024, until early January, 2025. The work being done includes a full remodelling of the facility’s pathways. The animals and plants at Bloedel will continue to receive care, but the public won’t be able to visit until the new year.

 


This article contains the following information about the Bloedel Conservatory:

Location | Admission Times and Rates | Tips and Advice | Other Information


 

Vancouver’s Bloedel Conservatory

The Bloedel Conservatory is a famous tropical garden.

Since its official opening in 1969 the indoor venue has been a popular attraction for both bird and plant lovers. That’s right, the place is over 50 years old! Hundreds of thousands of people visit each year.

The Bloedel Conservatory is an interesting place for both young children and adults. It’s also Vancouver’s best place for nature on a rainy day!

Today the heritage building is home to over 100 uncaged birds, ranging from macaws, parrots and even a pheasant, and thousands of exotic plants (including 500 different species).

Look around carefully and you’ll see all kinds of feathered creatures among the branches and leaves! The parrots might be hard to see, but they are there. Don’t expect to see all of the birds on your visit though. Also, don’t forget that getting pooped on by a bird is supposed to bring good luck!

TRIVIA: The building took over a year and a half to build, and its giant bubble-like dome is made up of close to 1,500 pieces of plexiglass.

 

Bloedel Parrot at Christmas

 

Where is the Bloedel Conservatory?

The address for the conservatory is 4600 Cambie Street, but it’s actually on the top of Queen Elizabeth Park and so a fair ways from the main street.

The road up the hill to the conservatory can be accessed via Cambie Street, or via Midlothian Avenue which connects West 29th Avenue with East 33rd Avenue. The Seasons in the Park restaurant is actually just a very short walk away and its address is West 33rd Avenue. Close to both the restaurant and the conservatory is a large pay parking lot.

The Bloedel Conservatory is at the very top of Queen Elizabeth Park, which at around 150 metres in elevation is the highest point within the City of Vancouver. The views from just outside the conservatory are spectacular.

The closest SkyTrain stop is King Edward Station which is located at King Edward and Cambie. It’s about a 15-minute walk from the station to the Bloedel Conservatory (with a fair chunk of that being uphill).

 

Admission Times and Rates

The Bloedel Conservatory is open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm every day of the year except for Christmas Day (when it’s closed), and until later in the evening during the busy summer months.

Below are the venue’s regular hours of operation at various times of the year as of the fall of 2024. (Note: Details are subject to change).

  • January and February – 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
  • March and April – 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
  • May to September 2nd – 10:00 am to 7:00 pm
  • September 3rd to October – 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
  • November and December – 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

The Bloedel Conservatory used to host its annual Festivale Tropicale at Bloedel event in December most years, but hasn’t since 2019. (It was also sometimes called both Enchanted Nights and Holiday Heights, but it was pretty much the same thing.) Whatever the event’s name, the event’s name, during the Christmas season the venue stayed open until later in the evening. Hopefully it will return at some point in the future.

Queen Elizabeth Park is free to explore, but the Bloedel Conservatory has a small admission price which helps offset its costs to operate. Below are the rates (excluding taxes) as of October 2024:

  • Adults (ages 19 to 64) – $8.30
  • Seniors (ages 65+) and Youth (ages 13 to 18)– $5.80
  • Children (ages 5 to 12) – $4.15
  • Tots and Infants (ages 4 and under) – Free
  • VanDusen Garden Members – Free

 

Bloedel Conservatory at Christmas
Holiday Heights at Bloedel

 

Tips & Advice

Below is some information to help you make the most of your visit to the Bloedel Conservatory.

TIP #1: A special time to visit is at night in December during Holiday Heights at Bloedel when the place is lit up and has festive family-friendly activities. See Holiday Heights at Bloedel for more information.

TIP #2: Admission for children ages 12 and under is often free for much of March (i.e. during the school Spring Break). That’s not the case every year, but it has been most years recently.

TIP #3: Don’t just go to the Bloedel Conservatory and then leave right away. Explore other parts of Queen Elizabeth Park too. It’s a beautiful park, and most of its other areas are free!

TIP #4: After visiting the Bloedel Conservatory, take a stroll below, through the main gardens at Queen Elizabeth Park, or spoil yourself with dinner at nearby Seasons in the Park.

TIP #5: Check out the fountain lights at night. They are pretty year-round, but especially so over the Christmas season.

 

Boy's Christmas Silhouette at Bloedel
Fountain Lights at Night at Christmas

 

Other Information

For more information on the Bloedel Conservatory, click the Bloedel and VanDusen Garden website.

Other articles that might be of interest include the following:

 

 

Buy Tickets
(with Tiqets.com)