House / Gardens Sights in Antibes — 4 of Our Favourites

The botanical gardens at Villa Thuret were built in 1856 and are free for visitors to walk around. The gardens cover an area of over 3.5 hectares and house over 1,600 different species of exotic trees and shrubs.

Thuret's collection offers the chance to view and study a diverse range of cultivated ornamental species on the Mediterranean coast. The estate was passed on to the INRA (National Institute for Agricultural Research) by Thuret's heirs and is now managed by the INRA and open to the public.

Guided tours of the garden are available by expert botanists, these are also free.

The chateau was restored by architect Jean François Bodin, author of the restorations of the Modern Art Museum in Paris and the Matisse Museum in Nice.

Exhibitions of modern and contemporary art are the mainstay of this gallery and you can see works by Matisse and Chagal, who both lived in Vence for several years. There are also cultural events throughout the year, such as encounters with artists and critics, or educational workshops.

This five hectare park is open to the public and is located in Juan les Pins. With free entry, it's a lovely place to come and sit quietly with a book and relax. The park is full of a wide variety of different trees and flowers. There are also water features, fountains, ponds and waterfalls. An olive grove is adjacent to the gardens.

Much of the architecture within the park is also representative of the various cultural influences in the area, from Greek and Roman to Italian.

The park surrounding the villa is planted with traditional species of the Mediterranean landscape. At the heart of this conservation area, a public rose garden offers the fragrances and essences of its thousands of varieties, mostly created in Antibes Juan-les-Pins, the capital of roses.