Jardin Botanique de la Villa Thuret

The Jardin Botanique de la Villa Thuret lies on the Cap d'Antibes, among the villas and pine woods of the peninsula, and it is one of the most important botanical gardens of the Riviera. It was created in 1857 by Gustave Thuret, a French botanist who was a leading specialist in algae, the seaweeds. Thuret, who had come to the south for his health, bought the land and set up a garden in which to study how plants from other parts of the world would grow in the mild climate of the Mediterranean coast. It was a private research station, funded by his own wealth, one of the first of its kind in France, and he worked there with his friend and colleague Édouard Bornet. After Thuret died in 1875, the garden was left to the French state in 1878.

The work done here changed the look of the Riviera. Thuret and his successors, among them the botanist Charles Naudin, tested exotic plants for their ability to adapt to the climate, and many of the trees that now define the landscape of the coast were introduced or promoted through the garden. Eucalyptus trees, mimosas from Australia, palms, cycads and many other species were grown here, and seed and young plants were distributed to gardeners and municipalities along the coast. In this way the garden contributed to the fashion for exotic planting in the villas and public parks of the Riviera in the later nineteenth century.

Today the garden is run by the national agricultural and environmental research institute, INRAE, and it continues to be used for scientific work on plants, trees and adaptation to climate change. It also holds national labels that recognise its value, such as that of remarkable garden. The site covers about 3.5 hectares and is planted with a collection of thousands of trees and shrubs from many parts of the world, representing well over a thousand species. A botanical trail leads through the collection, with labels explaining the plants and their origins, and the oldest specimens, large trees more than a century old, give the garden an air of calm and shade. The visit is free, and group visits and tours with expert botanists can be arranged in advance, with a limit on group size. Dogs on leads are accepted.

Opening times are limited, as the garden is a research site. In general it opens on weekdays, with different hours in summer and winter, and it is closed at weekends and on public holidays, so check the current schedule before you go. A visit takes about one to two hours, and the best times for flowers are the late winter, when mimosas bloom, and the spring.

The garden is a pleasant quiet place away from the busy seafront. It lies near the Plage de la Garoupe and the Parc de la Garoupe, and the coastal path of the Cap d'Antibes, with views of the sea, is nearby. The old town of Antibes, with the Musée Picasso, the Marché Provençal and the Port Vauban, is a few kilometres away. The garden suits plant lovers, walkers and anyone looking for a calm hour.