Terra Botanica (Angers)

Enjoy a day out with family or friends at Terra Botanica on a journey through the world of plants and six centuries of plant history. This theme park is at the heart of the Anjou plant-growing region is a perfect combination of fun and learning, for children and grown-ups too.
Roi (King) René, a lover of art, music, plants and flower gardens, introduced Mediterranean plant species to Anjou in the 15th century.  Great explorers brought back plant specimens from all over the world which were grown in nurseries throughout Anjou and in the gardens of the Châteaux de la Loire. This is why the Loire Valley today has so many nurseries, plants and flowers which give it such a unique living environment.
Terra Botanica covers 12 hectares, making it the N° 1 theme park in Europe devoted to the world of plants. It has 500,000 species of plant from six continents displayed in four huge, extraordinary gardens.

Plants from the four corners of the earth
In the « Grands Explorateurs (Great Explorers) » zone, set out on a journey to unknown lands and relive the incredible adventure of these plants, brought back by 17th and 18th century explorers.  Continue your discovery trail in the butterfly house with over a hundred butterflies from around the world, and along the Spice Road among banana trees and palm trees.
The « Végétal Insolite (Unusual Plants) » area with its Asian paddy fields, Mediterranean terraces, orchid house with 2,000 specimens, carnivorous plants and greenhouses with extreme climatic conditions illustrate how growing crops shapes our landscapes and our lives.

Plants in Anjou
«Escapade en Anjou » is a way for children and adults to discover the plants of our beautiful region of Anjou. Enjoy Grandma’s garden walk, stroll around the rose garden, explore the vegetable garden, follow Roi René’s trail and take a trip on the water. Smell the wonderful scents of hundreds of roses and discover the properties of herbs used by our grandmothers in days gone by.

The plant history of the Earth

Journey back over many thousands of years with « Les Racines de la Vie (Roots of Life) » to uncover the secrets of the origin of life on earth. Walk through the lush forests of the Paleozoic Era and stop off in the Neolithic Age to discover the first crops and plants dating back thousands of years. Fall into the clutches of the Plant Ogre but be careful not to wake T-Rex…
The Park is also a marvellous playground with lots of surprises. Learn to grden with your children, watch a chrysalis open, have a ride on the merry-go-round and explore the Ile des Lutins (Island of Elves). Young adventurers can go searching for fossils and then take their find home.