The most beautiful parks and gardens in Nantes
The Jardin des Plantes
Just a stone's throw from the train station, this Nantes garden is almost a must-see for travelers. Three centuries old, this park takes you on a journey with its tropical greenhouses, its famous "Titan's Penis" which only blooms every three to ten years and only for three days, its play areas, paddling pool, Orangery and tea room, its artistic installations like the exhibitions imagined by Claude Ponti in recent summers, which will make way for new installations in 2017.
Reasons to visit: its great program of activities and exhibitions.
Boulevard Stalingrad - Nantes
Tram: line 1, stop Gare SNCF
Phone: 02 40 41 65 09
Website
L'île de Versailles
A true haven of peace in the heart of Nantes. Its rockeries and Japanese-style waterfalls evoke zen gardens, where one can relax in the shade of pagodas. Visitors can explore the Maison de l'Erdre, which showcases the fauna and flora of the river, and rent electric boats or canoes for a river cruise.
Perfect for: reading a good book and escaping, or having a romantic picnic.
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©beauxjardinsetpotagers.fr
Quai Henri Barbusse - Nantes
Tram : Line 2, stop Saint-Mihiel, Motte-Rouge
Phone : 02 40 41 90 00
Parc de Procé
Probably one of Le Bonbon's favorites. This park in Nantes is perfect for families with its hundred-year-old trees, statues from the old Trocadéro in Paris, its merry-go-round, its tea room in the manor, and its paddling pool! You can even see a baby Serpicouliflore, imagined by Claude Ponti!
Go there for: a birthday snack with the kids or a walk along the Chézine to Saint-Herblain.
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Birth of a baby serpicouliflore, exhibition "The Crazy Garden" at Parc de Procé, 2015
Boulevard des Anglais - Nantes
Chronobus: C6 and C3, stop at Procé
Parc du Grand Blottereau
Facing an 18th-century castle, the Nantes park of Grand Blottereau covers about twenty hectares. Its tropical greenhouses have a unique collection of exotic plants in France and its Korean garden "La colline de Suncheon" aims to introduce the typical plants of Korea: green tea, ginger, ginkgos...
Go there for: getting a change of scenery close to home and visiting the greenhouses.
Pavillon Suncheon at the Grand Blottereau Park ©commons.wikimedia/Pymouss
Boulevard Auguste Péneau - Nantes
Tram: Line 1, stop at Mairie de Doulon
Phone: 02 40 41 65 09
The Chantrerie Park
This park is loved for its setting and its castle, on the left bank of the Erdre River. On Sundays in May, June, and September, you can also visit the Chantrerie farm, with the little ones (and the big ones)!
Perfect for: a summer picnic and a nap in nature.
©Route de Gachet - Nantes
Phone: 02 40 41 90 09
The floral park of Beaujoire
Along the Erdre River, this park contains a magnificent rose garden and many other flowers. Created for the International Floralies of 1971, this park in Nantes has grown gradually and is now as famous as the eponymous stadium. Well, almost.
Go there to: indulge your sense of smell and feast your eyes.
©amouroses.canalblog.com
Route de Saint-Joseph de Porterie - Nantes
Tram : Ligne 1, arrêt Beaujoire
Tél. : 02 40 41 90 00
The Garden of Foundries
Under the old hall of a foundry where boat propellers were manufactured, this garden in Nantes is home to around a hundred exotic plant species.
Go there to: escape a bit from the city's greyness without going too far, all while admiring the city's transformation following the closure of the shipyards.
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©commons.wikimédias/Marc Lacoste
Rue Louis Joxe - Nantes
Tram: Line 2, stop Vincent Gache
Le square île Mabon
Right next to the Palais de Justice, this former industrial wasteland became a public garden in 2005. On the site of a former Alstom factory, the square offers a walk, picnic tables, and games.
Go there for: a relaxing walk amidst the vegetation that is reclaiming its space from industry.
©Rue La Noue Bras de Fer - Nantes
The Gaudinière Park
Located at the Pont du Cens, on the edge of Orvault, the park was originally the property of the Château de la Gaudinière, which overlooks it. Now open to the public, the park has numerous bodies of water, including the Cens River, the Patouillerie stream, and a pond. You can also quench your thirst thanks to its Wallace fountain!
Perfect for: getting away from the city center and feeling like a prince(ss).
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©commons.wikimedias/Selbymay
Carrefour Patouillerie - Robert Schuman
Pont du Cens - Nantes