Jardin botanique de Lyon

Veltheimia capensis

Helleborus liguricus

Primula x polyantha

Photos taken in March 2017

Click here for more photos of the Jardin botanique de Lyon.

The Jardin botanique de Lyon is an impressive botanical garden in the French city of Lyon.  It covers 20 acres, near the city center, in the much larger Parc de la Tête d'Or.  I walked there, but it is not far from a subway stop.  The garden has existed here since 1857, when the park was first established.  It is France's largest municipal botanical garden. It is said to have 15,000 plants, with 3,500 species from temperate regions.  There are also roses, peonies, alpine plants, water lilies & many plants in greenhouses.   The greenhouses cover 70,000 square feet.  The largest greenhouse is one of the most impressive of the many greenhouses I've seen.  But the beds of perennials & shrubs, laid out in concentric circles, was the most interesting part for me, as a gardener.  This botanical garden is a must for people who love plants & visit Lyon.

Lyon Confluence

Jardin d'Erevan

Jardin Aquatique Ouagadougou

Jardin Aquatique Jean Couty

Place Nautique

Promenade du quai Rambaud

Promenade du quai Rambaud, Rivière La Saône

Click here for more photos of Lyon Confluence.
Click here for video of Place Nautique.

Lyon Confluence is a remarkable example of urban renewal at the old Port of Lyon. It is comparable to South Lake Union in Seattle, the Pearl District in Portland OR & other redeveloped urban industrial sites. The architecture here is bolder than in any other place I have seen.  This was the part of Lyon I found most attractive & interesting.  When it’s done, Lyon Confluence will double the size of the central residential area of Lyon.  The waterfront is more accessible here than in other parts of Lyon, which has grown up along the banks of the Rhône and Saône Rivers since the arrival of the Romans.  Place Nautique brings the Saône River to the center of the residential & commercial area with apartment buildings on one side & a shopping mall on the other.  Most of Lyon Confluence is less than 400 yards from water.  Parc de la Saône was built along the river, replacing a busy road with a 35-acre park designed by landscape architect Michel Desvigne.  It has separate paths for cyclists & pedestrians along with gardens & ponds that encourage & mimic nature.  Eventually it will be possible to walk or bike for miles along the Saône River, around the tip of the Confluence & then along the Rhône River.  Discussion of the redevelopment began in 1998 & work began in 2003.  Lyon  Confluence is expected to be completed in 2020.