Bayan Botanical Garden

Bayan Palace, the main palace of the Emir of Kuwait, opened in 1986 to host the fifth conference of the Arab League; an international conference centre is attached, and a 0.35-hectare Emiri tent was put up in the grounds in 1991, after the country's liberation. The botanical garden was laid out within this compound, designed by the Dutch designer Peter van der Toorn Vrijthoff of the ALLDESIGN studio, and officially opened in 2015. In late February 2015 the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported some 3,200 m² of glasshouses holding exotic plants; the blog 248am, passing on the news, doubted at the time that they would be open to the public.

Public access did come, under tight conditions. In January 2016 the same blog explained that the garden admitted visitors every Thursday morning without prior permission, in exchange for leaving a civil ID card at the security gate. The garden is also one of the main attractions shown to official state visitors. In April 2024, 248am reported that it had been closed to the public for about two years and was still closed on a recent visit; the blog pointed readers to the garden's Instagram account for news of any reopening.

The complex consists of three large glasshouses containing six gardens spread across four climate zones: tropical, dry, Mediterranean and European. The area under glass reported at the opening is about 3,200 m². A visitor in 2016 noted that the garden is smaller than it looks from outside. In a country whose summers are among the hottest on earth, keeping conditions under glass suitable for plants from humid or temperate habitats requires constant climate control.

The route sets tropical plants, dryland species, Mediterranean flora and plants from European gardens side by side, divided among six gardens. In 2016 a visitor described three zones each with its own kind of planting, whereas a 2024 article speaks of six gardens in four climate zones. KUNA, for its part, mentioned only exotic plants in 2015.

During the years of public access most plants carried a label with their name, but no printed guide was available, so curious visitors had to look up each species for themselves.

The garden lies inside the secure perimeter of Bayan Palace, the Emir's palace and a venue for state receptions, which explains why access has always been limited. When it was open, visits took place on Thursday mornings after handing a civil ID card to the security gate; on one visit in 2016 this weekday slot drew mainly mothers with their children. According to reports published in April 2024, the garden no longer admits the public; anyone hoping to visit should check the current situation first, for instance on the garden's official social media account.