Jardin des Géants, Remarkable garden in La Madeleine, France.

Jardin des Géants is a two-hectare park straddling Lille and La Madeleine, built over a buried car park. Its Lille side holds the Parvis des nuages; the Madeleine side holds l'Herbe des géants, the Jardin des sources with its allée des têtes cracheuses and allée des brumes, and the labyrinthe des murmures. Giant wicker heads on metal frames stand among water paths, blue stone, gargoyles, bamboo and magnolias, beside a 16-metre tower-greenhouse.

The Jardin des Géants opened in 2003, built over a former large parking lot that was moved underground. It was created as part of an urban renewal and sustainable development project, and its technical building is covered with a structure supporting a climbing plant to screen it from view. In 2021 the garden received the Jardin remarquable label from the French Ministry of Culture.

The giant heads here reference a northern French tradition of large effigies that play important roles in local processions and festivals. These figures embody historical figures and protective spirits that remain alive in local culture today.

The garden is accessible daily and sits conveniently between Lille Europe and Lille Flandres train stations. Multiple entrances allow you to approach the space from different directions and explore it at your own pace.

The site shows how artists merged wicker structures with living vegetation to create heads that grow and change with the seasons. This constantly evolving nature of the artworks means each visit offers something different.