Parc de la Roche-Fauconnière

Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France, France

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Parc de la Roche-Fauconnière, also called Jardin Favier, is a stunning botanical park located on the heights of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin in Normandy, France, overlooking the city from its rocky promontory.

Created in 1869 by Alfred Favier and developed across three generations of the Favier family as plant collectors, this 5.9-hectare park (with 3.2 hectares classified as a Historic Monument since 1978) houses an exceptional collection of over 4,500 plant species, including rare and exotic plants from China, Korea, Tasmania, and Argentina such as rhododendrons, azaleas, magnolias, tulip trees, and eucalyptus.

The park is internationally recognized for its rare plant collections, holding official labels for Ilex Asiatiques, Skimmia, and Nothofagus, and contains 149 threatened species and 489 rare varieties in cultivation. Owned by the Conservatoire du Littoral since 2011 and managed by the city of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin since 2017, the park is open to visitors through guided tours organized by the association La Cité des Plantes every Sunday from March to September at 2:30 PM, with admission costing 8 euros (free for under-18s and job seekers), and currently undergoes restoration work to preserve its deteriorating historic buildings including a manor and farmhouse.