Botanical Garden

People come here to stroll in the shade of the bamboo grove or along the shaded paths of the English garden, to admire the Martins Greenhouse and its succulents, or to daydream by the lotus pond, following in the footsteps of André Gide or Paul Valéry. Founded in 1593 by Henry IV, France’s oldest botanical garden spans nearly 5 hectares in the heart of Montpellier. Affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine, this space—once entirely dedicated to research and teaching—continues to attract researchers from around the world. The Montpellier Botanical Garden has been classified as a historic site (February 12, 1982) and has been protected as a Historic Monument since September 3, 1992.

Self-guided tours

Self-guided tours are only available during public hours (see above). For pre-arranged groups (school groups, clubs, public organizations, etc.), you must fill out the self-guided tour form

Guided tours

The staff at the Montpellier Botanical Garden offers themed tours Monday through Friday (excluding holidays), in the morning from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and in the afternoon from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. All tours are free and do not require registration. Please arrive 10 minutes early at the garden entrance on Boulevard Henri IV. A guide will meet with you to finalize your tour.

Garden Rental / Filming…

For any special requests (private or professional photography, film shoots, events, etc.), please contact the office by email at least three months before your desired visit date so that we can handle the administrative details (permits, organization, and agreements). Additionally, since January 2014, a fee schedule has been in place for all rentals of the Garden.

The Jardin des Plantes: Then and Now

In 1593, with the aim of promoting “health through plants,” Henry IV commissioned Pierre Richer de Belleval, a professor of botany and anatomy, to establish a Royal Garden. Inspired by the “medical garden” in Padua—the Italian benchmark for botanical gardens—the Jardin des Plantes in Montpellier in turn became a model for the one in Paris.

When it was first created, the garden was intended for the cultivation of “herbs.” However, Richer’s project soon expanded beyond medicinal plants alone and became a true tool for botanical study—something unprecedented at the time.

In the early 17th century, the Jardin des Plantes in Montpellier was not only a botanical garden, with its extensive collection of plants, but was also regarded as a pioneering garden in its approach to understanding the diversity of the plant world. To promote this diversity, it replicated various environments (shaded, sunny, moist, sandy, rocky, etc.) and set aside special areas for exotic plants.

1st Garden (circa 1602)

The “Montagne de Richer” is the oldest part of the garden. It served as a model for similar features in several European gardens. Consisting of a mound with five terraces on each slope, it primarily featured local flora. The “medicinal garden” was once located where the cypress-lined path—known as the “Tuscan Alley”—stands today.

Unfortunately, this first garden was completely destroyed during Louis XIII’s siege of Montpellier in 1622. Today, all that remains is the “Montagne.”

2nd Garden (1622–1810)

Starting in 1622, Richer de Belleval resumed his work and expanded the garden by purchasing land in the surrounding area. Later, these areas served as a trial garden for Pierre Magnol, a plant demonstrator and then deputy intendant from 1694 to 1697. The School of Systematics was established on this site in 1707 with its student Joseph Pitton de Tournefort.

In 1756, the first heated greenhouse was built at the Jardin des Plantes. At the end of the 18th century, Antoine Gouän, director of the garden, brought a layering of his ginkgo tree, which became the symbol of the School of Health, revived after the Revolution. Built between 1802 and 1806, a beautiful orangery was designed by the famous architect Claude-Mathieu de la Gardette. In the 19th century, two greenhouses were added to the garden’s facilities.

Third Garden (1810–1860)

During the 19th century, the historic garden was expanded twice, more than doubling in size. With these new spaces, the creation of the English garden became possible in 1860. The director at the time, Charles Martins, had a temperate greenhouse built there and a lotus pond dug, known as the “Lotus Pond.”

Beyond this pond stands an astronomy pavilion known as the “Algerian marabout.” This small observatory has never been used as such, but only for spectroscopic studies.

The Jardin des Plantes Today

Today, the Jardin des Plantes covers an area of 4.5 hectares, with 688 square meters of greenhouse space and a 267-square-meter orangery. The garden is home to a total of 2,679 species.

The Montpellier Botanical Garden has three main purposes:

Botanical Garden

A botanical garden differs from a traditional garden in its collections, its displays of living plants, and its well-labeled seeds—whether rare or common. The mission of such a garden is aligned with the plan of the European Botanical Gardens Consortium (BGCI/IABG).

Intended for scientific research, the garden serves as a center for taxonomic and horticultural studies open to international collaboration. To best preserve the scientific heritage of the Jardin des Plantes, its staff is implementing initiatives to expand and safeguard both living (plants) and non-living (books, written documents, illustrations, herbarium specimens) collections.

Historic Garden

With over four centuries of history, the Garden is now protected under the French law on Historic Sites and Monuments. As part of this, the preservation and enhancement of the buildings play a significant role in the Garden’s operations. Heritage conservation involves maintenance and restoration, as well as strict regulations governing public visits.

University Garden

Since its founding in 1596, the Jardin des Plantes has maintained close ties with the University due to its specialization in medicinal plants. Dedicated to higher education, the Jardin regularly welcomes students working on their theses and dissertations.
In an effort to bring scientific knowledge to the general public, the staff of the Jardin des Plantes develops educational programs for various segments of the population.

The Collections of the Jardin des Plantes

Candolle's school of systematics

The School of Systematics is an educational site where plants are grouped by botanical family. 250 species are housed in a protected area due to their fragility. Unable to accommodate large numbers of visitors, the Candolle School of Systematics is open exclusively for scheduled group tours.

The rockrose collection

Cistus plants are Mediterranean scrubland plants known for their tolerance of arid conditions. At the Jardin des Plantes in Montpellier, about ten species and their hybrids—resulting from crossbreeding between closely related species—are planted on the southern slope of Montagne de Richer. Notable for their blooms, rockroses adorn the Jardin des Plantes with large white or yellow flowers starting in April.

Medicinal plants

The medicinal plant collection is currently being established. This project aims to bring together the main recognized French medicinal plants to support the curriculum taught at the School of Pharmacy. The 164 species planned for the collection will be housed in the “medicinal plant garden” at the School of Systematics. They will be accessible to the public only during guided tours.

Trees

The Jardin des Plantes in Montpellier is home to more than 170 trees, most of which are concentrated in the 19th-century arboretum. The trees form a remarkable collection due to the age and size of certain specimens, such as the pecan tree, the ginkgo, the Osage orange, and the mountain phillyrea. The significance of certain trees, such as the Atlas cypress, the false kermes oak, or the alligator juniper, lies less in their size than in their great rarity within the collection and their botanical interest.

Succulents

Succulents are fleshy plants, the most popular of which are cacti. The collection at the Jardin des Plantes in Montpellier comprises 400 species and has been built up since 2011 through donations from collectors and botanical gardens. Succulents are known not only for their resilience in arid climates but also for their dazzling blooms. In some species of cactus, the flowers are much larger than the plant itself.

Palm trees

Until the early 2000s, palm trees were a prominent feature of the Jardin des Plantes. In particular, two beautiful rows of Chinese fan palms bordered the English Garden and the School of Systematics, respectively. In 2006, they fell victim to the Argentine palm weevil, whose caterpillars feed exclusively on the hearts of the palms, leading to the death of the trees. Since then, the number of palm trees has declined and now comprises only 36 species, visible throughout all sections of the Jardin des Plantes.

Naturalized plants

Found in various parts of the Jardin des Plantes, the nine so-called naturalized plant species come from all corners of the world (Carolina modiole, Greek micromeria, Sicilian snapdragon, etc.). The most remarkable of the naturalized plants is the Oriental comfrey, native to Turkey. Naturalized since 1930, it is the dominant plant in the undergrowth in the spring, with its abundant white flowers. Since then, it has spread to other green spaces in Montpellier.

The Insect Fauna

The Jardin des Plantes is home to a wide variety of insects that play a vital role in transporting pollen from flower to flower. In addition to these pollinators, there are many enemies of cultivated plants: insect pests. Among the most impressive insects is the carpenter bee, with its massive purple body. It does not hesitate to pierce the base of flowers whose nectar it desires. Peaceful by nature, it likes to “make acquaintances” by flying over the face of the person observing it. In August, the carpenter bee turns from purple to yellow, so heavily is it dusted with pollen from the flowers it has visited.

The Index Seminum

The Jardin des Plantes in Montpellier is part of a seed-sharing network that includes 500 other botanical institutions in France and 80 countries abroad. Seeds are harvested regularly in the garden, as well as in the wild, in the area around Montpellier. The Index Seminum is a catalog of these seeds, published every two years, and is exclusively available to other botanical gardens.