Winter closure Botanic Gardens
The Botanic Gardens go into hybernation as of Sunday 1 December 2024. On Friday 1 March you are most welcome again!
New developments
During the winter closure maintenance works and new developments will be realised in the Gardens. Read more about the new bank protection of the fort moat.
Entrance with campus card and USP partner card
Employees of Utrecht University, UMC Utrecht and USP partners keep free entrance to the Gardens. With a campus card or authorised entrance card you can enter from 10am to 16:30pm via the tourniquets. For these card owners the Gardens will be closed from 21 December 2024 up to and including 5 January 2025.
The Tropical greenhouses, the Entrance building and the toilets are closed. Keep in mind that maintenance work will be done and parts of the Gardens may be closed for that reason.
Venue hire during winter closure
Have your end-of-year party in the Botanic Gardens? That is a good idea!
- Venues are for rent as of 1 December up to and including 16 December 2024 on working days.
- No venue hire possible from 21 December 2024 up to and including 28 February 2025.
- All rooms are available for rent daily from 1 March 2025.
Contact
During winter closure we are available limited. Check our contact information for more details.
Karin Gerritsen receives grant for kidney-on-a-chip
Nephrologist Karin Gerritsen of UMC Utrecht receives a grant of 1.8 million euros for the research NanoKid from NWO. In this research she is working on an innovative kidney-on-a-chip: a miniature model in which the most important kidney functions are imitated. The ultimate goal is to use this kidney-on-a-chip as a fundamental building block for a bioartificial kidney and improving kidney replacement therapies.
24 organisations join forces for sustainable mobility in Utrecht East
Utrecht East took a step into a new phase of sustainable mobility. On 19 January 2026, 24 major organisations from the Utrecht Science Park and Kantorenpark Rijnsweerd signed a joint commitment to make travel more sustainable, encourage walking and cycling, increase the use of public transport, and structurally reduce peak-hour congestion.
De Pit opens in two weeks at the Educatorium – trial day today (20 January)
In two weeks, on Tuesday 3 February, De Pit will officially open in the Educatorium at Utrecht University. De Pit is an independent, student-run food initiative that originated from the Young Future Food Movement (YFFM). The initiative grew from a simple but powerful idea: everyone on campus deserves delicious, nutritious, and affordable food.
Wennink plan: Life Sciences and biotechnology are important growth drivers for the earning capacity of the Netherlands
The Dutch Life Sciences and biotechnology sector can make a much larger contribution to the Netherlands’ economic strength. This is shown in a new growth strategy presented today as part of Peter Wennink’s advisory report. The report also highlights Utrecht Science Park as one of the key innovation locations and sources of progress and growth.