Gardens of the Côte d’Azur

Wednesday 22 to Wednesday 29 October 2025

The Côte d’Azur has an extraordinarily mild and humid climate, open to the sea and sheltered by mountains inland. Menton is in a protected bowl-shaped spot and has some 316 sunny days a year. Rain varies from year to year averaging 850 mm a year. High humidity enables subtropical and tropical species to grow, so vegetation is lush where encouraged.

Tour participants are expected to be good on their feet as most gardens are on hillsides, some steep with tricky steps and there is a considerable walk to get to suitable restaurants for evening meals, though alternatively members could organise their own taxis. Three gardens are within walking distance of the Napoleon Hotel: Clos du Peyronnet, Val Rahmeh Botanic Garden, and Jardin Maria Serena. All can be found on Google maps.

Gardens on the tour include but there are others too:

  • The Hanbury Botanic Gardens at La Mortola – over the border in Italy but just 2 km from Menton and now run by the university of Genoa. These gardens were created by Thomas Hanbury, who had made his fortune in Shanghai, trading in silk, cotton and tea. His choice of site was influenced by his older brother, Daniel, a pharmacologist in the family business of Allen and Hanbury. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giardini_Botanici_Hanbury
  • La Citronneraie, 6 km above Menton, consists of groves of lemon and olive trees, other citrus fruit, and decorative areas with tropical plants. There are 800 varieties of cactus, tropical and sub-tropical plants: cycad, ginkgo, kiwi, avocado, banana, salvia, solanum, palms and arecastrum, camphor, eucalyptus, cedar, yucca, dragon tree, mango, maple, orchid, ginger, and varieties of bamboo and mimosa. The owner, former racing driver François Mazet, will introduce the estate.
  • Clos du Peyronnet is close to the hotel. Its garden is roughly square in shape, about 1¼ acres, but seems bigger because of the clever design of the paths and the intensive planting. It’s open towards the sea at the lower end but is otherwise surrounded by high walls. It was in the Waterfield family from before 1914. The last of the family to own it was William (1942 – 2021). See: Garden Museum article.
  • Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild are themed gardens surrounding the amazing villa, between Nice and Monaco. For the history see https://www.villa-ephrussi.com/en/an-historic-area There will be an audio guide. The visit will include lunch.
  • Val Rahmeh – Some say that at the moment the gardens here are the best maintained in Menton. A bonus is that the entrance is just a 10-minute walk from the hotel, albeit uphill all the way.
  •  Serre de la Madone – Built between 1924 and 1939 by plantsman and garden designer Major Lawrence Johnston (1871 – 1958), the garden contains plants from all over the world. It is in a very hilly area and was planted with rare plants which Johnston brought back from all over the world. Johnston was originally American but came to love England and France. He also created the garden of Hidcote Manor.
  • Les Colombières (The Dovecote) – Historically interesting garden owned by the family of the owner of the Hotel Napoleon. The gardens have some remarkable vistas. They were designed by Ferdinand Bac between 1918 and 1927.

Lunches are included in the fee, with some drinks included but all participants must have a reusable water bottle to be filled in the hotel breakfast room each morning. There will be one dinner included and restaurants will be suggested for other nights.

A minibus will meet the EasyJet flight due to leave London Gatwick at 08.30 to arrive at Nice at 11.35 on 22 October, and take members back for the flight departing 12.05 from Nice due at Gatwick at 13.10 on 29 October at the end of the trip.

The cost of the trip including hotel, entrances, guides, minibus, light/picnic lunches will be £900 per person sharing a mountain/garden-facing double or twin room or £960 in a sea-facing room. Fees for a member wanting a single room are £1200 (mountain/garden-facing room) or £1320 (sea room). Sea rooms have a small terrace and are located between the first and fifth floors.

To apply for a place, please complete this form and send a deposit of £250. If you have questions, please contact Heather Martin.

Bank Transfer

By bank transfer with reference MENTON
Sort Code 40 40 32
Account 5161 4002
Account name: Mediterranean Plants and Gardens
IBAN GB63 HBUK 4040 3251 6140 02

Euros

If you wish to pay by bank transfer in euros, please contact David Mason

Booking Form

Please note that MPG events are open to members of MPG and its sister organisations only.

Arrival Information

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Departure Information

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Insurance Details

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Bank Transfer

By bank transfer with reference  MENTON
Sort Code 40 40 32
Account 5161 4002
Account name: Mediterranean Plants and Gardens
IBAN  GB63 HBUK 4040 3251 6140 02

Euros

For those wishing to pay in euros, payment can be made directly into our euro account. If you wish to pay by this means please contact the treasurer, David Mason, for an exchange rate and payment instructions. If paying from a bank in the euro zone into our euro account, this can be done with minimal bank charges provided you use a SEPA (Single European Payments Area) payment method.