The most beautiful parks and gardens Martinique

The Martinique Zoo is housed in one of the island's oldest dwellings. Founded in 1643, the Latouche dwelling covered an area of 15 hectares. By 1664, sugar was the main product, followed by rum, cocoa, manioc and indigo. When Mount Pelée erupted, most of the buildings were destroyed, but some magnificent remains remain (dwelling house, indigoterie, manioquerie, sugar mill, aqueduct, etc.). In the hands of Jean-Philippe Thoze, creator of the famous Balata garden in Fort-de-France, the Latouche dwelling has been transformed into a unique place, sublimated by beautiful botanical compositions, that absolutely must be visited. Not just to meet the residents, who live in semi-liberty and live out their days in peace: monkeys, jaguars, pumas, lorikeets, anteaters, raccoons, as well as the more insular mongooses, touloulous crabs, turtles, iguanas and, of course, snakes. But above all for its unique atmosphere and its wild nature, skilfully staged by the magician Thoze. A precious testimony to local and subtropical fauna, this exotic bestiary is brought together at the heart of the Latouche dwelling, where visitors can banter and follow a specially-designed educational trail, not only to discover unexpected animals but also to interact with them. In one of the zoo's immersion aviaries, visitors are treated to a singular spectacle as lorikeets come to rest on you and eat out of your hand. These colonial relics, nestled in the hollow of the valley, are now the markers of a whole part of the island's history, made up of an agricultural economy and progressive industrialization. A visit to the zoo reveals the entire dwelling: the main house, of course, and the various farm and business buildings. You'll also note the rich aquatic network, to which the aqueduct and the paddle wheel still bear living witness. At the end of the visit, a large exhibition on piracy will delight visitors of all ages and recall another feature of the island's history: Madinina was home to many freebooters. Both the zoo's layout and facilities have been designed with the animals' well-being and visitors' comfort in mind: when you enter the Latouche dwelling, you're in for a rich journey in what can now be called a new-generation zoo.

In this garden, more than 400 species of trees and medicinal, ornamental and magical plants, which all disseminate sweetness at Suzelle's, happy owner of the place. She offers many discovery and animation workshops open to all audiences: initiation to naturopathy through aromatherapy and Caribbean phytotherapy, vegan cooking and Martinique specialties. Remember to book your workshops.

In Schoelcher, a monumental sculpture has come to sublimate the Place des Arawaks since 2001, forming one with the surrounding nature. Created by the Martinican artist Henri Guédon, a man of peace, a committed anti-racist, the Trees of Freedom represent eight ornaments inherited from the Abakua writings of the Caribbean Indians: they symbolize the freed Man. These five bronze sculptures are statues halfway between Man and plant, evoking the fraternity and symbiosis that linked nature to the first inhabitants of the island.

A journey into the deep Martinican culture, this is what the Second Souffle garden located in Le Vauclin promises: “sa sé jadin pay la ki la”. Discover the local flora and ancestral traditional practices, gardening workshops or jewelry making based on peyi seeds (Job's tears, jequirity bean, devil-bean), knowledge transmission is at the heart of the mission of this beautiful garden, cultivated in complete respect of the earth. We recommend a stopover with your family or alone!

This garden, led by the Sud Botanique association, has several missions: educational, by welcoming all types of visitors to raise awareness of environmental preservation, botanical, as it houses a nursery with tropical trees and rare species, and finally social, with its work camp for the integration of landscape workers. There is also a marked footpath for a nice stroll through the plants. The park also offers workshops to learn how to create and maintain a Creole garden. For a pleasant family walk.

Originally a vacant lot, this very beautiful park was laid out on the occasion of the town's centenary in 1988, and earned Saint-Joseph a prize awarded at the Communes Fleuries 2000 competition. Many botanical species can be found here. Bamboo, palm trees, balisiers and alpinias live peacefully together here. It must be said that Saint-Joseph, nicknamed the "granary of Martinique", is a paradise for plants: everything grows here and this garden is the perfect testimony!

Located in the heart of the Gondeau district in Saint-Joseph, this family garden is home to an astonishing variety of floral and plant species. The highlight is the superb vegetable garden in which fruit trees, medicinal and ornamental plants flourish. Cultivated with care and respect for nature, it is enriched with manure straight from the adjoining henhouse. A lovely garden to discover with the family!

This private garden path is located on a natural wetland coastal area. Educational panels line the pathway, presenting the remarkable plants and trees of the site, where mangrove and péyi almond trees flourish. With this trail, the objective of Pascal Fardin, the owner, is for people to discover the mangrove, as well as the local fauna and flora. A pond with tilapias, inspired by the Salines pond, crosses the site for about 200 meters.

Awarded the "Jardin Remarquable" label, this livestock farm created in 1993 houses gardens, a restaurant, a butcher's shop, a fishmonger's, a concert hall and a wildlife park with a permanent collection of local plants. Guests include macaw parrots, ibises, flamingos, peacocks and farmyard animals. A children's playground with zip-line, swings and pirate ship completes the picture... Organic farmers' market on Saturday mornings.

Josette Nicole is what we call an orchid collector. Over the past twenty years, she has transformed her garden at Le François into a veritable orchid paradise. There are thousands of specimens, with a hundred or so varieties, rare and less rare, that Josette has brought back from her travels or from exchanges with other collectors of the Ionopsis Club association, which brings together orchid enthusiasts on the island. To take care of her little protégés, she has two greenhouses, treatment rooms and potting rooms to multiply them.

Tommaso and Céline have taken on the challenge of transforming the thorny undergrowth of the Grand Macabou into a fruit forest. Their aim: to achieve agricultural and food self-sufficiency. At the foot of the orchard, made up of some fifty varieties of fruit trees, grow market garden produce and tubers (giraumon, tomato, cucumber, manioc). This passionate couple also offer introductory courses in permaculture and agro-ecological practices.

In this garden, located in the heart of Fort-de-France, hides a green oasis flanked by a colonial house and an enchanting garden. Ornamental, medicinal and aromatic plants thrive here in complete tranquillity, surrounded by works of art harmoniously arranged here and there among the plants. In this charming setting lives an artist: Agnès Jean-François, known as JAF. It was she who imagined this garden all around the colonial house that once belonged to her husband's grandmother, Yves Jean-François (JYF), now deceased, and he too an artist. After visiting the garden, you can admire JAF's sculptures and paintings in her former studio. A true parenthesis of greenery in the Foyalaise urban area, the JYF and JAF hut is only open to visitors once a year during the Rendez-vous aux jardins.

The objective of the Jardin de l'Espérance integration project is to enhance the value of the professions involved in horticultural production, medicinal and aromatic plants, and waste recovery. The association l'Espérance - Patronage Saint-Louis is home to an integration centre that welcomes people between 16 and 30 years of age and supports them in their project to return to work. The idea is to use the garden as a tool to enable them to reintegrate and reconnect with nature and society. After creating a Creole garden, this ambitious integration project is devoted to the cultivation of endemic plants, the creation of a health trail and should allow the redevelopment of the banks of the Monsieur River, which flows from Dillon to Saint-Joseph, a watercourse full of history that runs along the garden site. Eco-citizen and educational workshops are frequently organized there.

In Morne Gommier, Pierre-Yves Panor has designed a garden on the site where his ancestors lived during the marronnage period, when they fled from slavery in search of a new destiny.

As you wind your way through the breathtaking panoramic views, you'll come across several themed gardens that deal with agriculture and pharmacopoeia on the Mornes, the fight for freedom and, above all, the trauma of slavery. An emotional moment. Possibility of sleeping on site.