There’s more to the French Riviera than beautiful beaches and interesting towns. If you love nature and discovering it, why not consider a programme of discovering the finest local gardens and exploring the secret gardens of the French Riviera? You’ll be surprised and amazed to visit these incredible places. To make the most of it, use a private chauffeur who will take you there with ease.
Gardens to discover
Let’s start with Grasse, an emblematic town on the French Riviera. Here you’ll find an area of outstanding natural beauty. The Bastide Saint-Antoine garden has been awarded 1 Michelin star. It was chosen for the extraordinary fragrance of its flowers, which Dior used to create its perfumes. Here you’ll find tuberoses that were grown organically before the big wave. The gardeners take great care to protect the life of the soil and the plantations. The flowers are treated by ‘enfleurage’, a technique that involves bringing them into contact with a fatty substance. This fat is then placed on the frame that will receive the tuberose petals. Every day, the butter receives the aromas and becomes impregnated with these incredible scents. The production area for tuberoses remains small, but the jasmines grandiflora and others will amaze you with their beauty and unrivalled scent. The tuberose is propagated by sowing, a technique invented by the Property Owners in 2006. This allows for greater regeneration of plant stocks. The site is also a beautiful green space where you can take a stroll in a magnificent dream setting. What’s more, if you have time on your hands, you can enjoy lunch in a top-class restaurant serving delicate dishes of unrivalled flavour.
Then head to the town of Menton and explore the Clos du Peyronnet garden. This private garden remains a haven of peace and tranquillity. It belongs to the Waterfield family and was designed in the 19th century by English botanists. Here you can see over 600 species of subtropical and Mediterranean plants. There is also a superb collection of bulbs from South Africa. You’ll also be able to see some superb ponds featuring real water staircases. The garden is listed as a Historic Monument. It is one of the most secret gardens on the French Riviera, with a skilful Belle Époque presentation and a beautiful colonnaded loggia. Here you can admire the superb Washingtonia filifera and Phoenix canariensis palms. The site is an extraordinary maze of staircases, pergolas, groves and glazed pottery housing rare plants. The area remains somewhat wild, welcoming visitors into a unique plant world.
Other gardens to visit
The French Riviera is home to many other gardens. Take a trip to the gardens of the Villa Éphrussi de Rothschild in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferret. Here you can discover the world through plants. From Europe to Japan, plants sublimate the space. The site is home to 9 extraordinary gardens: the French garden, the Spanish garden, the Florentine garden, the lapidary garden, the Japanese garden, the exotic garden and, of course, the rose garden.
In Menton, you can explore the garden of the Villa Fort France in Grasse. Classified as a remarkable garden, the site is home to a multitude of fragrant flowers. You’ll be able to admire old roses, mimosas, daturas, etc.
Another destination of choice if you’re on the French Riviera is the exotic gardens of Èze. Here you can discover exotic species such as agaves and aloes. The garden is also home to many subtropical and Mediterranean plants in the cooler northern section. It’s a veritable cascade of plants that opens onto an incredible sea view. You can also visit the exceptionally beautiful natural caves. The site is also very close to the Èze train station.
Find a private chauffeur to take you to an extraordinary garden
You can of course use your own car, or hire one locally, to get you where you want to be when you want to be there. But you can also book a private chauffeur so that you can get around without having to complicate your life. Kingdom Limousines offers you quality recent vehicles (saloons, limousines, SUVs, etc.) and a quality chauffeur who can take you where you want to go in complete safety. Simply book your journey and we’ll come and pick you up. You’ll then have a top-of-the-range car with Wi-Fi, magazines and refreshments (drinks, sweets). So you can explore the French Riviera’s most beautiful gardens without getting tired. Our drivers can also comment on the most emblematic places on your tour to explain their interest.
