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Antibes Parks
EXFLORA PARK
Exflora Park is a five hectare garden open to the public. Next to the large olive grove, there are different styles of meditteranean gardens, from ancient Rome to the exuberant Riviera of the 19th century.
The main terrace is at the entrance to the park in the style of the Italian renaissance and from where visitors can view the entire garden.
Fountains and ponds stretch along the terrace, making a waterway 500 m long.
Antibes is renowned for rose production, and recognising this, rose bushes line the path leading to the sea.
The luxuriance of the exotic garden and palm grove is reminiscent of the belle époque, when English gardeners succeeded in planting flowers that bloom in winter, the season when the aristocracy visited the Cote d'Azur.
A liitle further on is the theatre de verdure, inspired by Italian gardens, and a panoramic viewpoint with a glorious view of the sea and the Iles des Lerins.
In the style of Provencal gardens of the 18th century, there is a maze with sculpted hedges where you can amuse yourself for a while, wandering at will.
Further on, Islamic gardens are featured, with an orange grove where the ground is patterned with terracotta irrigation pipes similar to those in the celebrated Seville Cathedral in Spain.
The vegetable gardens and orchards in the Arsat are planted in hollows as in Morocco, to protect them from the sun and maximise shadow and humidity. There is a representation of a Moroccan house with a square courtyard and pond within, with plants and ornamental pots. The kiosk, with its attractive blue varnished roof pays hommage to the painter MAJORELLE, creator of the beautiful blue garden in Marrakesh. This completes this part of the park.
In another area, the winter garden contains plants that flower in winter, such as mimosa and camellias, but naturally can only be seen at that time.
THE EILENROC GARDENS
Villa Eilenroc was built on a rock in the middle of a virtual desert. The area was transformed into a glorious garden through the patience and talent of Jacques Greber, landscape architect and consultant to the Great Exhibition in New York in 1939. He was commissioned by Mr Beaumont to create this luxuriant park of 11 hectares.
The gardens with all their luxuriant vegetation lie thirty metres above the sea with a view across the bay of the Cap. Planted with traditional meditteranean species such as marine and parasol pines, Alep and Canary pines, cyprus, oaks, olive trees, arbutus, lavender, thyme, rosemary, eucalyptus, ficus, etc., as well as three kms of pittosporum hedges, a whole part of the park has been created with plants found in the Antibes area in 1920.
THURET PARK
In 1857, Gustave Thuret discovered the wonderful, unspoilt Cap d'Antibes and bought five hectares of land where he built a villa and began the creation of a glorious park.
Bequeathed to the state by his heirs, the property is now managed by the INRA (National Institute of Agronomin Research). The superb collection of trees and exotic plants, and the rich earth, provide many opportunities for learning, and the cross-fertilisation of plant species that grow on the meditteranean coast.
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