Jardin botanique de Nice

Nice, France, France

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The Jardin botanique de Nice (also called Jardin botanique de la Ville de Nice) is a 3.5-hectare municipal botanical garden located at 78 avenue de la Corniche Fleurie on the heights of western Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, perched overlooking the city and the Baie des Anges (Bay of Angels).

The garden was begun in 1983 when the city's Museum of Natural History planted an initial 100 species, and it opened to the public in 1991. Today it contains more than 3,000 to 3,500 plant species, mainly Mediterranean, organized into 40 zones that reconstruct natural environments from around the world, including areas representing Mediterranean climate zones from South Africa, South Australia, Mexico, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, the Near East, the Canary Islands, Central Asia, China, and Japan, plus Central Asia and Japan.

The garden features impressive collections including 300 tree taxa, 800 herbaceous plant taxa, 150 medicinal plant species, and sage and agave collections that have earned the garden official approval from the Conservatoire des Collections Végétales Spécialisées, along with a herbarium housing approximately 6,000 additional species.

Serving as both a place to stroll and daydream and an open-air natural history museum, the garden pursues scientific, ecological, and educational objectives focused on conserving, protecting, and transmitting knowledge of Mediterranean natural heritage and biodiversity. The botanical garden is open daily without charge (free admission for everyone), from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in summer and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from November through March, accessible by bus or an easy walk up the hill from Nice St. Augustin or Lanterne, and dogs are not allowed on the grounds.