Visitors were ordered to evacuate Brisbane’s City Botanic Gardens on Tuesday afternoon during a stand-off between police and a man armed with a knife.

Officers arrived at the scene at about 2.30pm, with the area remaining cordoned off to visitors shortly before 4pm.

This masthead was told the man had not approached anyone with the knife and was sitting on a bench while officers negotiated with him.

Queensland Police asked members of the public to avoid the gardens, with an area encompassing Alice and Edward streets, as well as part of the river pathway, cordoned off.