Welcome to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh! We have a wide range of quality facilities in unique surroundings available for meetings, conferences and lectures, as well as for special occasions... including weddings.
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Facilities booking information
A Garden for all parties
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh offers several magnificent and memorable venues, with the manicured Garden offering a tranquil and peaceful backdrop, all within easy reach of Edinburgh's city centre.
The Garden's accessibility from the city centre and close proximity to Waverley Rail Station makes it a prime venue for corporate events, weddings, private events, seminars, conferences, and much more. See How to reach us for detailed location and travel information.
Our Event Designer can tailor-make a package for your event, be it an annual dinner, drinks reception or an impressive product launch. We can accommodate parties of all sizes, from 50 people in the Caledonian Hall up to 750 people in a Marquee overlooking the Edinburgh skyline. For full details and quotes, see the Facilities booking information and charges page.
Conference and Meeting Facilities
Venues
The John Hope Gateway (Click on thumbnails for larger picture)
The John Hope Gateway, opened by Her Majesty the Queen in 2010, is set at the west side of the Edinburgh Garden. Incorporating the 140 cover Gateway Restaurant, this state of the art eco-friendly building provides a variety of venue choices as described below.
David Douglas Room
The David Douglas Room is ideal for business meetings, lunches and special occasions. This exclusive and unique venue with panoramic views across the Garden is available for up to 40 persons. A wide variety of layouts can be accommodated to best meet your requirements.
Patrick Geddes Room
The Patrick Geddes Room provides a flexible space for a meeting, presentation or as a small performance area. It can also be used in conjuntion with the David Douglas Room for breakouts or refreshments. As with the other venues, a computer and projector are available for presentation purposes.
Real Life Science Studio
Although designed primarily for teaching, presentation and display purposes, the Real Life Science Studio has a very flexible layout and incorporates a Polycom video conferencing system as well as computers, visualiser, microscopes and monitors.
The Caledonian Hall
Set within the Garden, the elegant Caledonian Hall was built in 1842 and overlooks the famous Rock Garden.
This provides an exclusive and versatile corporate or private venue for around 100 guests with the option of an marquee to provide additional floor space.
The John Muir Grove
These redwoods were planted in the 1920s and have now reached over 24m in height.
The towering trees make for a cathedral-like atmosphere, which means that this a fairytale setting for weddings and commemorative ceremonies.
An ideal setting for those moments to remember.
The Temperate Palm House
The Temperate Palm House is RBGE's most iconic building, admired for the grandeur of its exterior and the elegance of its interior - with its tall, cast iron pillars reaching upwards and the roof structure echoing the architecture of the palms themselves. This venue is available by special permission for particular occasions.
The Marquee Site
The Marquee Site is located on the lawn in front of Inverleith House. What makes this an exceptional outdoors venue is the prime view of Edinburgh's theatrical skyline, dominated by a clear view of Edinburgh Castle and Arthur's Seat.
Guided Tours
Why not enquire about adding a guided tour of the Garden, or a private view of a current exhibition housed in Inverleith House (pictured here) to your event?
Whether it's part of your event, or provided as part of a guest programme, a private tour or viewing will be of great interest.
The Terrace Café: The Terrace Café is located next to Inverleith House and can accommodate evening events. Not only does the Café boast fine dining, it also offers a beautiful view of sunsets over Edinburgh's skyline.
Conference and Meeting Facilities
Within the Edinburgh site are a number of venues for conferences, seminars, meetings and other events, all of which are wheelchair accessible. Computer/audio-visual presentation equipment is available on request as described in ICT/Audio-Visual Facilities.
Lecture Theatre (Click on thumbnails for larger picture)
The Lecture Theatre will seat 240 people in a curved tiered arrangment facing a lecture bench. Although traditional in layout, modern audio-visual facilities are available in this and the other venues. The Lecture Theatre supports presentations via computer or DVD player and has available a full PA system with wireless microphones for presenters and for audience participation. A simultaneous translation booth can be supported.
Conference Room
The Conference Room is located next to the Lecture Theatre and can act as a break-out area for the Lecture Theatre, or as a standalone venue. The versatile nature of the Conference Room allows it to be set up in theatre style (up to 120 people), classroom style, as a banquet, reception area, or a board room. It includes a computer projector together with a presentation computer and DVD player on a moveable full height lectern.
Board Room 
The Board Room will seat up to 16 people. The east-facing side of the Board Room is a glass wall facing out to a courtyard dominated by mature tree ferns, making this a relaxed yet formal venue option. An audio conferencing phone is available for this and the other venues. The computer and projector provide presentation facilities and, together with a fitted camera, support standard resolution video conferencing such as Skype.
Board Room Annex
The Board Room Annex is adjacent to the Board Room and can either act as a break-out area for it, or as a stand alone venue. It will seat up to 20 people. The versatile nature of the Board Room Annex allows it to be used as a formal board room, lunch and reception area, as well as a classroom. It provides an interactive whiteboard in addition to computer and DVD player.
Other Technical Facilities
We can also provide Polycom audio conference phone and webinar facilities. High speed Wi-Fi is available. A lecture room and an ICT Suite, both equipped with computing stations and interactive whiteboard, together with other breakout areas, may be available outside term time for use in larger conferences. A high resolution Polycom video conferencing system is available at the Real Life Science Studio in the John Hope Gateway. Please see ICT/Audio-Visual Facilities.
