The Complete Guide to Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Holiday Lights

One of my family’s favorite holiday traditions is visiting Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Garden Lights, Holiday Nights, a dazzling outdoor holiday light show. We love it so much we’ve been every year since it started in 2011. With so many years of visits behind us, we have a few tips to share about making the most of your trip to see the holiday lights at Atlanta Botanical Garden this winter.

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What to Expect at Garden Lights, Holiday Nights

Garden Lights, Holiday Lights features more than a million lights wrapped around trees and adorning the arbors and exhibits of Atlanta Botanical Garden. Although visitors normally have access to Atlanta Botanical Garden’s 30 acres, several areas, including the Lou Glen Children’s Garden and parts of the Fuqua Conservatory, are restricted during the Garden Lights, Holiday Nights event.

Because of the event’s smaller footprint, you can easily see everything there is to see in about an hour. But I don’t recommend rushing through your visit. We generally stay for at least two hours, taking time to soak in the setting.

When I think back on our many visits, I think of family members holding hands as we stroll down pathways of twinkling lights and standing peacefully together as we watch the model trains go by. I admit there may have been once or twice or eight times I’ve had to tell the kids to stop chasing each other around the Levy Parterre formal garden, but I promise you, there’s still a lot of holiday bliss to be had.

Things to See at Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Holiday Lights

You can tour Atlanta Botanical Garden’s holiday lights in any order (subject to the one-way route through Storza Woods), but the following guide is the way my family usually visits them.

Model Trains

First stop is the model train exhibit next to the Alston Overlook. Even though my kids are older now, they still love to see the G-scale trains make their way through the miniature mountain landscape. There’s something soothing about hearing the engines whistle and watching the trains make their loops through the trestle bridges and tunnels. And no matter how many times we’ve looked at them, we always find ourselves peering into the small buildings that line the train tracks. If you have young children, you’ll probably find yourself checking them out for a while too.

Twinkling Terrace

Next, spend some time on the Twinkling Terrace, the formal garden in front of Mershon Hall featuring an elegant Dale Chihuly glass sculpture at its center. Along the garden’s brick paths and short hedges is where my children’s game of tag always happens. (Ahem.)  If you need a snack, you can purchase a s’mores kit to roast marshmallows at the firepits here.

Crape Myrtle Walkway

After a s’more or two, head down the main walkway toward the Great Lawn. This is one of the best spots for photos at Garden Lights, Holiday Nights. Crape myrtles wrapped in thousands of LED lights line the walkway, making a magical canopy. When you get to the end of the walkway, peer into the fountain with lights strung above like a Christmas tree to see yourself and all the lights reflected back at you.

Orchestral Orbs

Next, head to the Orchestral Orbs, six-foot-tall glowing bulbs on the Great Lawn that change colors, pulse, and flash along with music. The benches under the arbor next to the lawn are a great place to sit for a few minutes, enjoy the lights, and listen to jazzy holiday tunes.

Fuqua Conservatory

Once you’ve had your fill of the Orchestral Orbs, continue up the arbor path to the Fuqua Conservatory, where you’ll find the Radiant Rainforest and the picturesque Poinsettia Tree.

The Radiant Rainforest, at the center of the conservatory, is completely dark except for tiny green lasers that light the undersides of the tropical trees and plants like water droplets. The most amazing part of being in the darkened conservatory is hearing the night songs of the birds and frogs that live there. The chirping of the peeper frogs is so distinct that for years I thought the sound was piped in from a speaker. But it’s real. And after spending time in Costa Rica, I can tell you the actual rain forest sounds just like it.

As you make your way through the conservatory, you’ll come to the Poinsettia Tree. The “tree” is a collection of poinsettia plants arranged in a Christmas-tree shape. The style of tree changes each year, and it’s a perfect spot for a holiday photo. Atlanta Botanical Garden staff are always happy to take a photo for you so you can include every friend and family member in the picture.

Skylights Lounge

By the time you leave the Fuqua Conservatory, you’ll likely be ready for some refreshments. In 2018, Garden Lights, Holiday Nights introduced the Skylights Lounge, an outdoor bar area overlooking the Skyline Garden. You’ll enjoy a beautiful view of Atlanta while sitting at high-top tables or on pit couches around a fireplace. The Skylights Lounge, which replaced the bar area at the Outdoor Kitchen, offers beer, wine, and hot chocolate and features a deejay.

Kiss Me Arch

After leaving the Skylights Lounge, make your way along the opposite side of the Great Lawn and head toward the Japanese Garden. In this area, you’ll find another snack bar, as well as the Kiss Me Arch. Be sure to give your sweetie—or your best brother—a smooch or a hug for the ‘Gram.

Ice Goddess

Next, you’ll pass through the Day Hall courtyard and head down the path through the Glittering Galaxy. After the Tunnel of Lights, you’ll reach the Cascades Garden, where Atlanta Botanical Garden’s 25-foot-tall plant- and moss-covered Earth Goddess sculpture is transformed into the Ice Goddess. The Ice Goddess’s hair is draped in blue and white lights and water runs through her hand into the pool below.

Nature’s Wonder Light Show

Now, it’s time for the showstopper of your Garden Lights, Holiday Nights visit. In 2017, Atlanta Botanical Garden debuted a synchronized light show called Nature’s Wonders. You can get a birds-eye view of the multi-colored lights strung from the treetops of Storza Woods from Atlanta Botanical Garden’s 40-foot-tall Canopy Walk.

The light show features songs from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, as well as pop and holiday tunes. The synchronized lights tell the story of a year in nature, showing the rain, thunder, and blooming flowers of Spring, the scorching heat of Summer, the falling leaves of Autumn, and the snow and ice of Winter.

I recommend staying to watch a complete song cycle. If you’re lucky, you may be able to snag one of the bench seats along the Canopy Walk.

Gift Shop

Now your visit to Garden Lights, Holiday Nights is almost at an end. Don’t forget to stop at the gift shop on your way out to pick up an Atlanta Botanical Garden-themed Christmas ornament or a botanical-themed present for the nature lovers on your holiday list.

Where to Eat

If you need something a little more substantial than s’mores and cocktails during your Atlanta Botanical Garden holiday lights visit, you can try Longleaf Restaurant or the Quick Café on-site. Reservations for Longleaf are strongly recommended, especially for special event nights.

Where to Stay

If you’re coming from outside the Atlanta area to visit Atlanta Botanical Garden’s holiday lights, or you want to turn your garden visit into an Atlanta staycation, consider The Bellyard Hotel in West Midtown. It’s located less than a 10-minute drive from Atlanta Botanical Garden in a vibrant neighborhood near several great restaurants. It also has chic, picturesque decor and a fun rooftop bar.

Buying Tickets

Value, Regular and Peak Night Pricing

Garden Lights, Holiday Nights has become such a treasured holiday tradition in the Atlanta area that a few years ago, Atlanta Botanical Garden instituted Value, Regular and Peak Night pricing for admission tickets. You can find a calendar of the nightly ticket designation here.

Value Nights fall before Thanksgiving, after New Year’s, and some weekdays in early December. Peak Nights include every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday between November 26 and December 12, as well as every night from December 15 until January 2.

Online Ticket Sales

Currently, tickets must be purchased in advance online. One problem with buying advance tickets is that Garden Lights, Holiday Nights takes place rain or shine. So, it’s best if you have an idea of the weather before you book. If you need to book further out, such as for a Peak Night in late December, Atlanta Botanical Garden offers a Flex Tix option for an additional $5 per ticket. With Flex Tix, you can change the date of your ticket by contacting the Garden Admissions office.

You also have the option to purchase a Premium Ticket for an extra $10, which includes a drink ticket and hologram glasses. The hologram glasses are disposable cardboard glasses that create halos around the lights as you look at them. I usually skip the Premium Tickets, as my family doesn’t think the hologram glasses add much to the experience.

Atlanta Botanical Garden Membership

Atlanta Botanical Garden members receive a discount on Garden Lights, Holiday Nights admission, so if you’re not already a garden member, consider signing up when you purchase your tickets. You’ll get 12 months of membership starting from the date of purchase. In the past, I’ve been able to get discounted tickets for Garden Lights, Holiday Nights in two different calendars years because the dates of my visits fell within the same annual membership year.

Parking at Atlanta Botanical Garden

Finally, it’s helpful to know about parking at Garden Lights, Holiday Nights before you go. Parking is available in the Atlanta Botanical Garden deck, but you’ll have to pay a parking fee. I recommend arriving early because the parking deck fills up, especially on Peak Nights.

If the parking deck is full, you can park in the nearby neighborhoods, but the walk is long by the time you reach the garden entrance. As an alternative, Atlanta Botanical Gardens recommends taking MARTA or using a rideshare app.

Gardens Lights, Holiday Nights at Atlanta Botanical Garden runs from November 12, 2022, to January 14, 2023.

Need more information about things to do in Atlanta? Follow me on Instagram at @fellowfarertrue or check out these articles on Atlanta Destinations. If you’re interested in more holiday activities near Atlanta, you might like Everything You Need to Know about Callaway Gardens Fantasy in Lights or Guide to the Best Christmas Events in Atlanta 2022.