Garden of the château de Marqueyssac, Historic garden in Vézac, France
The gardens include over 150,000 hand-trimmed boxwood plants arranged along 6 kilometers of paths on a rocky promontory above the Dordogne River.
Julien de Cerval designed these gardens in 1860, transforming the landscape surrounding an 18th-century château into a structured botanical masterwork.
The gardens represent French landscape design principles with geometric shapes, organized paths, and carefully arranged vegetation patterns reflecting regional horticultural traditions.
The site offers electric shuttle service from April to September, multiple refreshment areas, and specialized parking facilities for visitors with reduced mobility.
From the Belvedere platform, visitors observe five castles of the Dordogne Valley while standing 130 meters above the river on a limestone cliff.
Location: Vézac
Inception: 1860
Address: Les Jardins de Marqueyssac, 24220 Vézac, France 24220 Vézac
Opening Hours: Monday-Sunday 10:00-19:00
Phone: +33553313636
Website: http://marqueyssac.com
GPS coordinates: 44.82389,1.16278
Latest update: September 3, 2025 08:02
These botanical gardens in France contain rare plant species, historic grounds and Mediterranean landscapes. Collections include the Jardin des Serres d'Auteuil in Paris with its 19th century greenhouses, the Parc Oriental de Maulévrier featuring Japanese garden design and the Jardin Botanique de la Villa Thuret in Antibes with Mediterranean and exotic plants. The Domaine du Rayol presents plants from climate zones around the Mediterranean Sea. The gardens represent different styles and periods. The Campo Santo in Orléans displays medieval monastery gardens while the Jardins de Marqueyssac in Vézac are known for their sculpted boxwood hedges. The Arboretum de Balaine ranks among France's oldest private arboretums. From the Jardins Suspendus de Marqueyssac in the Dordogne to the Parc Phœnix in Nice, these locations offer views into botanical collections and historic garden artistry.
France has several dozen botanical gardens combining scientific research and plant conservation. The greenhouses of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris host over 4,500 species in climate-controlled zones, while the Lyon Botanical Garden cultivates around 15,000 plants divided between historic greenhouses and thematic sections. Universities such as Strasbourg maintain scientific collections over 2.5 hectares with greenhouses dating from 1881, and the Nantes Botanic Garden conserves 11,000 species, including 50 protected French varieties. These facilities document four centuries of botanical study and serve both education and research. Coastal gardens utilize temperate maritime conditions to display unusual plants. The Roscoff Exotic Garden gathers 3,500 species from the Southern Hemisphere on a rocky promontory, cultivating Australian and New Zealand plants adapted to Brittany’s climate. On the French Riviera, the Èze Garden showcases Mediterranean and succulent collections at 1,407 feet above sea level, while the Saint-Jean-de-Luz Coastal Botanical Garden focuses on Atlantic coastal species. The Grandes Bruyères Arboretum near Orléans encompasses 15,000 trees and shrubs from Europe, Asia, and North America across 34 acres, organizing plantings according to their geographic origins.
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