Jardin des Plantes

Three centuries of botany, sea-faring and the green fingers of the gardeners have made the gardens what they are today. Maybe you’ll be able to smell the adventure coming from the fragrances of travel…

The botanical gardens host over 10,000 taxa, which places it among the top 5 collections in France. Some of these have been cultivated on-site in one of the ornate elegant 19th century green- houses. You can visit the gardens independently or with a botanical gardener.

In connection with the new station, the garden has also expanded and now opens out onto the city. It has also been fitted with a new entrance, showcasing the park’s magnolias along the esplanade, and extends the garden beyond its walls, out onto the forecourt.

Every summer edition of Le Voyage à Nantes has offered a brand-new collaboration between an artist and the city’s park services. This is how, from 2013 to 2017, Claude Ponti’s Dormanron (aka, the “giant bench”) and Dépodépo (a play area where giant flower pots are turned into huts and gazebos) were born.