Parks and of Nantes

Between botanic tradition and savage nature

The Jardin des Plantes 1 The Isle of Versailles 2 3 centuries of botanic tradition A Japanese-style , a house dedicated to the Erdre 7 hectares Nantes’ botanic garden, and an English-style 1.7 hectares park at the heart of the city. A garden given over Once past the nautical-activity animation presented to science and to pleasure alike, the Jardin des on its perimeter, one discovers at the heart of Plantes attracts over 1.4 million visitors each year. the island a Japanese-inspired with a succession of miniature natural mountain To see landscapes. • Hectot’s magnolia a Magnolia grandiflora that is 200 years old To see • the national camellia reference collection • maples and pines pruned into cloud shapes • the five historic with their remarkable • aquariums with fish from the Erdre collections • the dry garden at the heart of the tea room • the flowering palette for the green areas of Nantes When? March-April for flowering cherries and azaleas, When? In March during the camellia flowering season, end of August / beginning of September for the jazz festival and in the greenhouses in winter and the Erdre rendezvous, autumn for the purple foliage of the maple trees. Where? Rue Stanislas Baudry Tramway line 1, stop: SNCF railway station Where? Quai de Versailles. Tramway line 2, stop: Saint Mihiel. Chronobus C6 (bus 22), stop: Bonde Times: daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in winter, to 6:30 p.m. in Times: daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in winter, to 6:30 p.m. spring and autumn, and to 8:00 p.m. in summer. in spring and autumn, and to 8:00 p.m. in summer. visits: daily at set times, not on Tuesdays. Maison de l’Erdre: open at specific times, not on Tuesdays.

Nantes’ parks and gardens a green town waiting to be discovered To discover Nantes through its parks and Erdre and the Loire, as well as those put gardens is to discover the many horticultural together by human hands: and botanic varieties that it contains: Alpine valley, , or USA bayou collections of camellias, magnolias, and roses, – all more real than real life! of oaks, and of spring bulbs. Exotic with Parks are also beautiful areas for games and links to the city’s maritime past, and high- leisure. All year long, they host a range of quality local species, sometimes protected. events that are open to the general public. Parks also a valuable form of historic heritage: You will find more detailed information on the houses of the bourgeoisie, castles, each park in a complete map / guide that traces of the industrial past, statuary, and is available for each park. Please ask for contemporary works bear witness to the information. history of Nantes, both great and small. Benefit, too, from a genuine journey into the For one day or for always, discover Nantes heart of sweeping landscapes. through its parks and gardens – the journey is The remarkable natural landscapes of the worth the detour!

The Parc de Procé 3 The Parc 4 An English-style landscaped park de la Gaudinière A stunning mountain landscape 12 hectares Designed by Dominique Noisette in 1866, this 12 hectares English-style park offers a number of viewing In this high-quality wooded park, centuries-old areas. Its statuary heritage tells the history of chestnut trees and oak trees stand beside exotic Nantes. Procé is also part of Nantes’ literary trees introduced in the 19th century. The park also imagination, thanks to quotations from André offers a relaxing mountain walk along the hollows Breton and Julien Gracq. of the shady Patouillerie valley.

To see To see • the tulip tree, the largest in the département • the largest sequoia in Nantes • the dahlia collection • an alpine rockery • the palette of heathers • bulbs • the green stream of the Chézine • the rhododendron collection • the castle and its outbuildings When? In April, when the azaleas flower, at the end of August / beginning of September for the dahlia When? In March for the narcissi, in April / May for the flowering season of azaleas and rhododendrons, in October for golden foliage.

Where? 4 Rue des Dervallières. Chronobus C6 (bus 22) Where? 29 Rue Diane. Chronobus C2, stop: Forêt. C3, stop: Procé. Bus 70, stop: Poincaré Times: daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in winter, to 6:30 p.m. Times: daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in winter, to 6:30 p.m. in in spring and autumn, and to 8:00 p.m. in summer. spring and autumn, and to 8:00 p.m. in summer.

The Park Cemetery 5 The Parc de la Chantrerie 6 A farm in a countryside park A collection of remarkable species 18 hectares In the shade of its remarkable trees, the park offers 50 hectares a number of viewpoints over the Erdre Nantes’ largest open-air nursery. Along landscaped It is the setting for an urban farm that is open to walks, discover over 11 000 trees and bushes. Varied schoolchildren and to the general public on Sundays barks and leaves, stunning appearances – let yourself with fair weather; it also houses the Centre de la be surprised by the variety of species. Faune Sauvage (Wildlife Centre). The park offers great ecological richness, and is the most natural of To see the large parks of Nantes. • the holly collection • the oak collection To see • the camellia collection, patterned on the one at • the 1872 landscape design by D. Noisette the Jardin des Plantes • the urban farm • the 700-year-old chestnut tree When? In March for the camellias, in October for golden • the Monterey cypress foliage, and in winter for bare bark. When? In May-June and in September, on Sundays, for the Where? Chemin de la Justice. Tramway line 2, stop: René Cassin urban farm, and in October for golden foliage. (10 minutes’ walk away). Bus 59, stop: Bout des Landes. Where? Route de Gachet. Chronobus C6, stop: Atlanpole Times: daily from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (from 1/02 to 1/11), and (from September 2013). from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (from 2/11 to 31/01) Tramway line 1, stop: Beaujoire, then bus 76, stop: Chantrerie. Sundays: bus 22, stop: Atlanpole.

Times: daily, all year round.

The Parc Floral 7 The Parc du Grand 8 de la Beaujoire Blottereau An exceptional in a floral park A century of tropical agronomy

14 hectares 19 hectares The park offers beautiful viewpoints over the The seat of a former school of tropical agronomy, sweeping landscape of the Erdre. It is the setting this park, home to exotica, offers a journey through for a landscaped rose garden with almost the natural landscapes and cultivated fields of the 20 000 rose bushes associated with perennials. The world. In September each year, the park is the setting Biennale of the Scented Rose is held there every for the “Folie des Plantes”. two years in June, with the Floralies coming round every five years. To see • the tropical-agronomy greenhouses To see • the tropical • the international rose garden • the Korean hill of Suncheon • the national magnolia reference collection • the Mediterranean rockery • the iris garden • the USA bayou • the heather garden When? In April for the Mediterranean rockery When? In March for the magnolias, and the Korean garden, in July-August for the exotic shelters in May-June for the irises and the rose bushes. and the tropical kitchen garden. Where? Route de St Joseph Chronobus C2 (bus 22 until Where ? Boulevard Auguste-Péneau. Tramway line 1, September 2013), stop: Roseraie. Tramway line 1, stop: Mairie de Doulon. Bus 12, stop: Grand Blottereau. stop: Beaujoire then bus 76, stop: Roseraie. Times: daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in winter, to 6:30 p.m. in spring and autumn, and to 8:00 p.m. in summer. Times: daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in winter, to 6:30 p.m. in Greenhouse tours, every Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at spring and autumn, and to 8:00 p.m. in summer. set times. The parks 9 The Parc des Oblates 10 of the Isle of Nantes (Opening in the summer of 2013) One isle, many parks 3 hectares 29 hectares Anchored on the slope of the Sillon de Bretagne Shipyards, foundry buildings, wind turbines going into (Brittany Furrow), this former convent park rolls its the river, and old Loire grass wetlands… meadows towards the Loire landscape. The park The parks of the Isle of Nantes offer an invitation to gives emphasis to biodiversity: beehives, fruit trees, discover the specific history of each place: industrial and sheep. It is a new green area for leisure open to all natural history, where life now colonises areas that in Nantes. were formerly given over to human work. To see To see • the view of holm oaks and maritime pines • the Parc des Chantiers and its machines, boulevard • the cedar walk • the view over Trentemoult and Loire Department of Green Areas and Léon Bureau • the Jardin des Fonderies, rue Louis Joxe • the Maison de l’Apiculture (bee-keeping centre) of the Environment • the belvedere walk in the Chantenay quarter, 2 rue de l’Hôtel de Ville – Nantes • the Parc des Berges, boulevard Louis Barthou • the Jardin de l’ile Mabon, quai François Mitterrand leading to Square Maurice Schwob • CRAPA natural area, rue des Salicornes When? In May-June for the flowering of fruit trees, • the experimental branch and in August-September for their fruit. When? All year round for the botanic and horticultural collections that are presented. Where? Rue de la Brianderie. Chronobus C1, stop: Hérelle. Bus 81, stop: Bougainville (entrance through the Maison de Where? Across the isle from east to west – see addresses above. l’Apiculture).

Times: daily, all year round. Times: daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in winter, to 6:00 p.m. in spring and autumn, and to 19:30 p.m. in summer. Parks and gardens of Nantes Between botanic tradition and savage nature Jean Renaudineau - Illustration : Marie - © Jean-Dominique Billaud, Bretaud Lelong : Claire 2013 -Textes de Nantes Ville VIEW FROM THE ENTRÉE DU CENS PARC DE LA GAUDINIÈRE Direction de la communication

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Parks and gardens

PARC FLORAL DE LA BEAUJOIRE of Nantes THE CHAPEL OF THE PARC DE LA CHANTRERIE 1. Jardin des Plantes 2. Isle of Versailles 3. Parc de Procé 4. Parc de la Gaudinière 5. Park Cemetery Arboretum 6. Parc de la Chantrerie 7. Parc floral de la Beaujoire 8. Parc du Grand Blottereau 9. Jardins de l’île de Nantes JARDIN DES FONDERIES 10. Parc des Oblates

Nantes, between botanic tradition and savage nature

Nantes is the heir to a long botanic tradition. with the establishment of the Jardin des The city is acknowledged for the quality and Apothicaires. the richness of its eight parks. Tradition as an art of living that combines the history The adventure grew in the 18th century. of Nantes and its geography. In 1726, to enrich the country’s botanic Over the centuries, the parks and gardens of collections, Louis XV ordered ships’ captains Nantes developed, each with its own identity to bring back plants and seeds from their long and unique landscapes. sea voyages. The temperate climate and the In 1687-88, the reign of Louis XIV marked the influence of the ocean have enabled plants start of Nantes’ adventures in , from around the world to thrive in Nantes.