Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

Who doesn’t love Phipps’s?! It’s magical. I wish that I could live there. in the orchid room. Yaaas. Anyways, it’s awesome and beautiful and wonderful and everyone that I’ve ever took there feels the same way.
On a personal note, I wish that there would be certain days for adults only. Kids are irritating, and get in my way (yes, I know that yours are special.).

Beautiful flowers, serene scenes, babbling brooks, and a perfect few hours.
I came on Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, solo, and I was able to fully enjoy all the beauty and serenity this conservatory has to offer.
I walked with butterflies. Was greeted by chipmunks, who promptly ran the other direction. And had a delicious meal at the café.
I highly recommend this to anyone visiting, or living in, the Pittsburgh area.

$ 15 dollar admission. $ 1 off for students.
BUTTERFLY ROOM! The only room I was really excited to see! Everything else was alright. Just something to do in Pittsburgh

Everyone in Pittsburgh should visit the Conservatory it is a very beautiful place and you can learn alot about plants so its fun and educational making it a great place for family/​kids.
I recommend trying to go more than once too as they change up the themes/​plants with the seasons. I remember going in the summer and then being really surprised at how different the place was in winter.
During the winter time they have a Christmas theme and a light show at night making it a great date spot.
but dress properly it is a botanical garden so it can be humid/​warm

The Phipps conservatory is a beautiful place to be. It was one of my favorite place to be while I resided in Pittsburgh. I loved it so much, I got a family membership so that my fanily can join me whenever they came to visit me. It is very family oriented, and good for students, seniors and individual.
The botanical gardens continues to impress me with their beautiful lights during the winter season, and keeps me excited with future seasonal events.

Hands down my favorite place in the burgh. If you’re visiting you have to come here, if you live here… Come back and get a membership. I can’t say how many times I’ve been here since moving to pgh 2 years ago but I don’t think I could count on two hands. I love everything about this place, I love all the flowers, I love the orchid room, I love the desert room, I love the art installations, I loved the Christmas light show, I loved the spring show, I loved the May market… Are you getting the picture? This place is truly fantastic and magical. The folks who run the show do a great job and I never feel like I’m seeing the same flowers or plants. You do see something new every time.

Such a beautiful place. If you’re contemplating going to Phipps or have any interest at all in going, you should.

Came on a lovely spring April day and wish we had more time!
We spent about 2 hours briskly walking through the grounds (we were on a time crunch). Please allot more time to read every little sign, and take in the great care of this place! However, if you’re short on time, there is a nice little garden to stroll around (for free).
A lot of stations for kids (arts and crafts) were open on the weekend and activities seemed to encourage little minds to learn and explore YET had a little something for all ages. Lots of chihuly glass which was neat too.
Tip: if you visit often or live in Pittsburgh, get the membership! You can use what you paid and take your receipt within 7 days to use towards your annual membership fee.

Many good reviews for the Phipps so I will keep this short. This is another Pittsburgh treasure and especially nice to see during the Holidays, in early Spring, etc. It was the site of a G20 summit years ago and they obviously choose such sites for their esthetic beauty among other considerations. I am spoiled to work within walking distance of the Phipp’s and so often enjoy a morning or lunchtime walk through or a meal at the café. It is also a place I frequently take out town visitors to see as one of the sites to show off Pittsburgh. Definitely a must see if you haven’t been and if you have I don’t think you require convincing to get back. Sunshine is back, make plans to visit.

The Phipps Conservatory is excellent. Good for individuals, good for students, good for families with young kids, good for seniors.
This is a fairly large facility, with several wings to explore. If you walk the suggested path and just browse everything once, you will spend 1.5 hours.
But there are many, amazing things to see, so if you linger a bit (as you should), expect to spend two hours or more. I will spare you my personal list of favs, but will say there is a HUGE variety of environments and plants to see.
Here are some nice extra features:
— Family membership is a good value. Come twice and you’re money up. Do it and then come lots of times.
— They have lockers for a quarter. Lock up your winter coat and hat, or your back-​pack or whatever, so you and enjoy yourself hands-​free.
— The Phipps Café is surprisingly decent. Sure, it’s a bit pricy, but at least what you get is good, and creative — not just the standard slop. So don’t hesitate to plan to grab a bite here and then keep looking.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with my new membership. My family and I will be back many times. There is more for me to see there, and I am interested to watch how things evolve there, season-​to-​season.

I graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, and never took advantage of this lovely gem. We spent a weekend in Pittsburgh over the holidays and visited the Phipps Conservatory on New Years Day. It was beautifully decorated for the season! We walked through the entire place during daylight hours, went to eat, and came back to enjoy the lighted garden just after sunset. Spectacular! It got busier as the evening progressed, but we were able to see everything before it got annoyingly busy (which was around 6 pm). The view of the Pitt campus was wonderful as well. I highly recommend a visit!

I visited Phipps more than five times this past year. Every time I’ve went, it’s even more beautiful. I love it there. I have a duel membership, which saved me and my family a lot of money. I would suggest getting one if you plan on going twice in a year.
They constantly have different things going on, and of course all of the flowers change fairly quickly. My first two visits were in the springtime when they had all of my favorite flowers. I saw the completed green roof in the summer, and I just recently saw the holiday lights at nighttime. I was blown away by the outside portion. Everything is so relaxing, and it’s a perfect date night.
If you’re under 21, do some research before you go on Friday nights. Sometimes there’s drinks and music in the back room where the Congo is and you won’t be allowed to go inside.

Phipps is one of my favorite places in Pittsburgh. I’ve gone at least once a year virtually my entire life. In that time, Phipps has greatly expanded and has so many more beautiful exhibits. As a kid I always pictured myself getting married there in the Broderie Room (And I probably would have if I still lived in Pittsburgh!) If you have kids don’t worry about them being bored — Phipps offers scavenger hunt cards and there is an extensive outdoor area geared towards children.
Unfortunately we missed the Christmas lights this year, and I haven’t seen them in quite some time. They often have special art exhibits throughout the year. I was lucky to see Chihuly’s glass exhibit as well as the Frabel’s Longfellows. A few of each pieces are now permanent, with Chihuly’s throughout and the Longfellows in the beautiful Orchid Room.
If you live in the area, or expect to go twice a year or more as a family, you should definitely consider a membership. It’s worth the price.

Thankfully the Conservatory is open until 11pm during the holidays. My family’s schedule is so hectic that the one night we could all be together it was 7:30pm. We decided to go see the Holiday Display.
The entrance was lit up with beautiful lamps and 2 huge Christmas trees. The beauty drew you in.
Room after room was breathtaking. They had poinsettias in red, pink, white, and red and white. They were everywhere and they were beautiful. Everywhere you looked there were flowers of all kinds. They also had some magnificent glass art pieces. I can’t imagine how long it took to make them.
They have a whole room that is a garden train. The theme for the railroad was children’s books-​Peter Pan, Little Red Riding Hood, and The Little Engine That Could to name a few.
The outdoor display was outstanding. They had 2 Christmas trees made out of snowflake lights and so many other interesting pieces-​some traditional and some contemporary.
The Conservatory has so much to see and was a great family outing.

If I could propose to my wife again I’d love to do it here. It’s so peaceful, inspiring and romantic. All the colors and life makes you feel wonderful. Well it did me, anyway. I’d love to work here.
My friend and I had a little time off and this was only a 15 minute drive from our hotel. A short drive from just about anyway in Pittsburgh and worth the visit. Especially if you like flowers, plants and some beautiful arranging of the grounds.
If your not tired of walking there is a beautiful park across the street.

This place is amazing. I was visiting Pittsburgh for a weekend trip and wanted to explore some of the museums and tourist attractions in the area. I enjoyed Phipps most. It was the nicest and biggest botanical garden I have ever been to. It costs $ 15 admission but totally worth it. There are numerous gardens and greenhouses to visit each with their own theme. I really liked the orchid room, and the desert room.
There is some parking out on the road in front of the building, but it was busy and we had to park in a public garage and walk several blocks from campus area. Make sure you get a map, because we almost missed out on seeing the entire place, it’s too big to just walk around without a map.

Love this place! You do not have to be a botanist or a green thumb to appreciate this beautiful place and everything it has to offer. The chihuly masterpieces are also fantastic! I highly recommend this place.
I recently took my mom here while she was visiting. They had the fall flower show with the crysanthemums and the garden railroad. The mums were all so beautiful and colorful. I didn’t know there were so many different varieties.
The railroad exhibit is adorable! I can’t imagine how much hardwork was put into it and in the entire conservatory. Kids would really like that one because it’s about classic fairy tales and it’s interactive. I think kids will like the butterfly garden, tropical congo
and all the huge and unique plants all over.
The time we went was the last night they were having the «party in the tropics» for the season. I wish I knew about this earlier. The fee is included with the admission. They have a dj and serve alcohol. You can go indoors and dance/​mingle, or you can go outside by the waterfall to just hang out and relax. Great idea!
This place is beautiful day and night, and I recommend going in the daytime and night time because you will be amazed at how things can look different. It’s also beautiful year round, but there are some outdoor exhibits that are closed around jan-​feb. I’ve never been here during Xmas time, but they have an upcoming winter light show, which is probably amazing! It’s such a happy place!

We stopped by last night for their radical day… free admission, yay!
I haven’t been to Phipps since i was 12 or so. Back then, i was in BBBS. My Big knew sooo much about flowers and plants so i remember getting the 411 on all of the exhibits. Going yesterday with my boyfriend, we didnt know too many facts about the flowers. There were some explanations here and there, which was nice. It would be awesome to have a tour guide walk us through. Id love to know about more flowers.
This space is surprisingly huge. I mean it looks big on the outside but once inside it’s like a giant maze.
i loved the orchids, desert room, sunken garden & tropical fruit & spice room. My favorite was the Center for Sustainable Landscapes. It was relaxing outside. We actually sat at one of the tables and chatted for a bit.
I really loved coming back here and seeing it as an adult. we will have to check it out again when admission isnt free and there arent 1,000 kids flying past you and crying, lol. I bet its beautiful (& warm!) here around Christmas.
I looked at Phipps as a possible wedding venue. The photos were beautiful.
Also, someone at an information desk informed us they make their own energy for the entire building, how cool!

Each time I visit, I’m enchanted. This particular evening was free admission, a RADical Day courtesy of Regional Allegheny District in which a portion of sales tax dollars comes back to you in this manner. Visit
for more free days at other venues as part of this program.
While it is considerably busier this day than others, it is well worth the parking headaches and the long lines touring the exhibits. Be patient and parking can be found up close. Be patient and the line continuously moves. In fact, think of it this way. Moving along at a slower pace gives you plenty of photo opportunities without feeling you’re slowing people down behind you because they can’t move any faster on this visit, anyway.
From the building itself, to the grounds in front and on the rooftop, to the interior and exterior displays, it’s magnificent. I love all the Dale Chihuly blown glass pieces. As soon as you enter the front doors, you’ll see the huge chandelier of blown glass. Then, throughout the many displays, you’ll encounter other fine specimens of his work.
There are so many display rooms and they are all stuffed full of beautiful plants. Some examples of the rooms include succulents, orchids, bonsai (outdoors), among so many others.
Also noteworthy are the café and gift shops near the entrance. We picked up a niece piece of blown glass this trip.
Tips: 1) to manage the tour in an orderly fashion — pic up a map at the front counter and then keep turning to your right through the maze of rooms, of which there are many. 2) If you’re there on a night with evening hours, walk out on the rooftop for a nice sunset view.

My son took me here as his birthday gift to me. It has been years since I’ve been here. The conservatory has many different sections originating from one central spot. In one wing there is a garden with many types of butterflies. In another there are beautiful fish and a tropical rain forest. They have trees and flowers from all over the world including a banana tree.
The palm room was one of my favorites since we don’t have palm trees in this area. Admission is free for Pitt students but $ 15.00 is the normal charge. The conservatory has an outdoor area which includes an exhibit for children. The area has beautiful waterfalls, exotic fruit gardens and so much more. You can even smell the fragrant aroma of some of the plants.
Most importantly it is a peaceful place to unwind and soak in the natural beauty of the conservatory. There was a wedding taking place in one room during our visit and yes it can be booked out for special events.
Again, parking can be a problem with the college students in school from the various universities but there is the off season and I believe they hold a winter light show during the holiday season. Allow 1 – 2 hours for your visit and feel the relaxation of the calming botanicals.

Pour les spécialistes de plantes, ce sera un vrai paradis par les variétés et les espèces végétales présentées. Pour les néophytes comme moi ce sera une superbe promenade dans des végétations très différentes. Orchidées, papillons… Né manquez pas le jardin de Thaïlande, offert par la famille royale de ce pays! Superbe: ruisseaux, jungle…