Jardin botanique de la Villa Thuret, Research botanical garden in Cap d'Antibes, France.
Jardin botanique de la Villa Thuret is a botanical garden in Cap d'Antibes housing trees and shrubs from Mediterranean climates around the world. The specimens were planted here for research and conservation purposes, creating a working collection of botanical diversity.
The garden was established in 1857 and became France's first privately funded research center for plant acclimatization. This pioneering work made it an important center for botanical research on the Côte d'Azur.
The garden bears the name of Gustave Thuret, the botanist who cultivated plants from around the world on this site. Visitors today can see how the collection reflects the 19th-century fascination with exotic species.
The garden is located in Cap d'Antibes and can be reached on foot; the pathways are straightforward to navigate. Visitors should be aware that opening hours vary by season, and admission is free of charge.
The institution continuously experiments with new species to study how plants can adapt to the Mediterranean climate. Some of these newly tested specimens are cycads, conifers, and palms that thrive for the first time outside their native habitats.
Location: Antibes
Inception: 2012
Address: 90 chemin Gustave Raymond Site de la Villa Thuret
GPS coordinates: 43.56389,7.12444
Latest update: December 6, 2025 17:45
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.
Between the ramparts of the old town and the pines of Cap d'Antibes, this seaside resort on the French Riviera preserves an architectural heritage spanning eight centuries. Grimaldi Castle, a 12th-century fortress turned Picasso’s first museum in 1946, overlooks the seafront from Place du Safranier. Further south, Fort Carré stands with its four bastions on a 26-meter-high (85 ft) rocky promontory, built in 1565 to defend the border between France and the Duchy of Savoy. Cap d'Antibes features about twenty residences built from the late 19th century through the interwar period. Villa Eilenroc (1867) covers 27 acres with French-style gardens and a rose garden facing the sea. Château de la Croë (1927) once hosted the Duke of Windsor and is now a private estate. Notable visitors included Anatole France, who resided in Villa Soleil, and Karl Lagerfeld in the 1990s. Villa Thuret, established in 1857 by botanist Gustave Thuret, currently hosts a research garden of the INRAE with 2,500 plant species suited to Mediterranean conditions. Modernist architecture is represented by Villa Aujourd'hui (1938), a rare example of geometric design from the 1930s on the Côte d'Azur.
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