Garden National Botanical Conservatory of Brest

Guipavas, France, France

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The Garden National Botanical Conservatory of Brest, officially called the Conservatoire botanique national de Brest, is a 32-hectare national botanical garden located at 52 Allée du Bot in Brest, Finistère, Brittany, France (near Guipavas), dedicated primarily to preserving endangered plant species.

Founded in 1975 on land that was formerly a quarry and rubbish dump purchased by the municipality in 1971, the conservatory's main mission is protecting endangered and protected plants from the Armorican Massif (including parts of Brittany, Basse-Normandie, and Pays de la Loire), as well as species from Europe, islands worldwide, China, Japan, the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand.

Since 1990, it has been designated a National Botanical Conservation Center and now houses approximately 1,700 species of endangered plants, with 20 species preserved largely due to the conservatory's efforts. The garden features beautiful outdoor areas with bamboo groves, rock and alpine gardens, an arboretum containing majestic trees from around the world, vegetable and herb gardens, small lakes, streams, and waterfalls.

Plus 1,000 square meters of greenhouses divided into four sections (tropical mountains, dry tropics, humid tropical forests, and subtropical ocean islands) containing over 200 taxa with 95% being endangered species. The outdoor garden is open daily year-round without charge, while the tropical greenhouses are open from April 1 to November 15 with admission fees and advance booking required for guided tours.