Cap d’Antibes is a symbol of the luxury life on the French Riviera. On our way to the Jardin Thuret, we passed countless villas and houses of the obviously quite wealthy. Year round, the Cape’s climate and unsurpassed beauty have attracted the rich and the royal as a retreat from the rigors of northern climes. Places there have security gates; I guess that most property owners do not bother to rent out their houses.
On the Cap d’Antibes, one can find several green and beautiful gardens; the most popular one is the Jardin Thuret. It was created by Gustave Thuret in 1856 on the slope of La Garoupe hill to acclimatize numerous tropical plants. If you would like to see some exotic plants in a marvelous garden, that is the place you need to go! The garden is small, 3.5 hectares or so, but here visitors can find more than 3,500 types of different trees and shrubs.
The idea around the garden’s design was to respect the Mediterranean climatic conditions (absence of regular watering and winter protection) and allow a natural selection of the plants most resistant to the dryness. The plants push as freely as possible. As a result, the garden looks a little bit neglected or charmingly wild - there are no labels here, few benches, and one drinking fountain - but the place is definitely worth a visit.
The Jardin Thuret is open Monday–Friday 8am–6pm, and admission is free.