Nestled in Coral Gables, about 35 minutes from Miami Beach, is the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Fairchild is a scenic 83-acre botanical garden with a vast collection of rare tropical plants and features The Clinton Family Conservatory, with dozens of species of butterflies from all over the world. It is also one of my favorite places to visit in Miami. My boyfriend Matt and I arrived at the garden at 11:30 am on a Saturday. The sun was shining, and there was a light breeze that made for the perfect afternoon.
The cost of admission is the following for non-members:
Adults $24.95
Seniors $17.95
Students (with ID) $15.95
Children (6-17) $11.95
Children (0-5) Free
There are several promotions and discounts as well. For example, military enter for free.
Since it was almost lunchtime, we first made our way to The Glasshouse Café by Le Basque, although we did stop a few times along the way to take photographs. Just about everywhere you turn at Fairchild is an Instagram worthy photo opportunity. The café serves, as listed on the website, “organic and locally grown food including soups, gourmet sandwiches, wraps, salads, sodas, smoothies, desserts and adult beverages (wine, prosecco, and beer).” I ordered the Le Basque Club Sandwich ($14), which is grilled chicken, crisp smoked bacon, iceberg, sharp cheddar, and orange club sauce. Matt ordered the Chicken Curry Salad Wrap ($15): curried chicken, raisins, and green apple. The full menu is here. Sadly, we didn’t take any pictures of the food. We sat outside to eat and I was too distracted by the surroundings.
That Saturday also happened to be National Picnic Day, and we talked about how perfect it would have been to have brought a blanket to set out on one of the many patches of grass for lunch. Next time.
Exploring Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
After lunch, we pulled out the map of the grounds and proceeded to walk every inch of the garden, stopping about every three feet to take a picture. I think it took us about three hours, but the time flew by.
Fairchild has many beautiful areas to explore and opportunities to learn. One of my favorite places was the Wings of the Tropics exhibit in The Clinton Family Conservatory. Part of this area is the Vollmer Metamorphosis Lab where you can see butterflies at various stages of their metamorphosis. Learn more about this here.
After the butterfly garden, we walked down a gorgeous winding path across stunning green landscapes to reach the Sunken Garden and the Cycad Circle. On the way, we stopped at talking trees, which are part of the Trees of Knowledge event.
We then made our way to two lakes we had missed and took a million more photos on the way back to the car.
It was indeed the loveliest afternoon and just what I needed to relax and recharge that weekend. If you haven’t been to this wonderful place, it’s time to schedule it in, especially if you live in Miami. Visit my IG page @angiebtravels to see some videos. If you are visiting Miami or planning to visit Miami, I highly recommend visiting Fairchild. Have you been? What is your favorite area of the garden? Let me know in the comments below.
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