Botanical Gardens in Nantes - Jardin des plantes

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 Direction Nature & Jardins. 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.

Following in the footsteps of Ponti, illustrator Pedro, and artist Johannn Le Guillerm, the city now turns to multifaceted graphic designer Jean Jullien to take over the Jardin des Plantes.

In December 2022, 5 installations left the Jardin des Plantes for good, while Fileur (“Spinner”), Observateur (“Observer”) and Passeur (“Ferryman”) remain to welcome visitors at the garden gates. Some characters have even ventured outside the park, like: Hisseur (“Climber”) on the façade of Nantes’ City Hall in Rue de Strasbourg, and the Débitumeur (“De-asphalter”) near the castle.