BORDEAUX CONFIDENTIEL

THE JARDIN PUBLIC

LE JARDIN PUBLIC of course!

Alone, with family, as a couple or with friends, for a walk, a picnic, or a relaxing afternoon, all the conditions are there for a great time. The Jardin Public has an arboretum, a library and a Natural History museum. Many attractions for kids: puppet theater, swings, playgrounds, old-style merry-go-round.

Covering 10 hectares, it's impossible to feel cramped there even though this prime spot is very busy.

A bit of History...

In 1746, echoing the humanists' ideas, intendant Tourny wanted to give Bordelais a pleasant setting suited to keep them in good health.

It would be a French-style garden designed by Jacques Ange Gabriel over about 10 hectares. At the center, a water feature made up of eight beds along a wide alley gives a perspective. The garden is closed by wrought-iron gates and the originals still remain between Rue Ducau and Place Longchamp, and on Place du Champ-de-Mars.

During the Revolution, flowers and shrubs gave way to lawns. Only the tall trees remained. The Jardin Public then hosted official ceremonies and country balls. In 1856, the city council, led by mayor Antoine Gautier, entrusted its redesign to landscape architect L-B Fischer, who created a « romantic » style park with lawns, winding paths and a water feature dotted with islands. Footbridges the width of crinolines were installed. The project supervisor was Charles Burguet, who redid the terrace and set up a basin, and the garden's gates were recast. Statues were placed on Burguet's esplanade: Diane (Gabies), Jeunesse and Chimère (Granet), Maxime Lalanne (a Bordeaux etcher), Rosa Bonheur (animal painter) by Gaston Veuvenot Leroux, and many statues are in the garden (Fernand-Lafargue, Ulysse Gayon, Alexis Millardet, Carle Vernet: all defenders of the vine).

The herbalist, and the vanished tropical greenhouses, round out this ensemble. Bordeaux's botanical garden moved here in 1858. At the end of the terrace stands the Hôtel de Lisleferme by architect Bonfin. It houses today's Bordeaux Natural History Museum. Tourny's aim is to unite the city with the Saint-Seurin and Chartrons suburbs. In 1970, the Cours de Verdun gates were redone (7,500 gold leaves were needed by craftsmen Bernard, Blot and Lorette). The Jardin Public hosts around thirty remarkable plant species and features several striking elements that also earned it the "Jardin remarquable de France" label (original wrought-iron gate classed as a Historic Monument, big basin shaped like a serpentine river covering one hectare, three contemporary bridges over the basin in wrought iron;) Unmissable today, you'll cross paths with strollers, tourists, joggers, families and lovers. The main entrance gates often host photo exhibitions. A must, not to be missed under any pretext.