Georges Delaselle Garden and Museum

Who this place suits

With family

9/10

As a couple

10/10

With friends

8/10

Solo

10/10

With a dog

9/10

Reduced mobility

7/10

These scores are calculated from what the page records: official rating, facilities, difficulty, duration and location. They are a guide, not a substitute for contacting the venue, especially about accessibility.

About

At the south-eastern tip of the Île de Batz, the Georges Delaselle Garden and Museum is one of the most unusual exotic gardens in Brittany. It all began in 1897, when Georges Delaselle, a Paris insurer with a passion for botany, discovered the island. Won over by its particularly mild ocean climate, he bought several plots of heath and dunes at Penn ar C’hléguer and set about acclimatising plants from Africa, Asia, America and Oceania. The project meant completely transforming the land. Georges Delaselle had windbreaks built, terraces laid out and a vast hollow dug into the heart of the dune, up to nearly five metres deep. Sheltered from the sea spray, this hollow became a microclimate where palm trees and subtropical plants thrive. The work also uncovered a Bronze Age necropolis, still part of the garden trail. Suffering from tuberculosis, Georges Delaselle settled on the island for good in 1918 and devoted the following years to his garden. After nearly forty years of work, he sold it in 1937 to the industrialist Robert Nast. The garden was occupied and damaged during the Second World War; Georges Delaselle died in 1944. In 1957, the estate was bought by the works council of Nord-Aviation. An exceptional cold snap in January 1963 destroyed much of the collections, and the garden gradually fell into oblivion. Its revival began in 1987 thanks to a handful of volunteers. The paths were cleared, the walls rebuilt and the collections replanted. The first visitors returned in 1988, and the association Les Amis du Jardin Georges Delaselle was founded in 1989. In 1997, for the garden’s centenary, the Conservatoire du littoral became its owner. The restoration was rewarded in 2006 with the Jardin Remarquable label. Since 2019, the site has been run by Haut-Léon Communauté with the Conservatoire du littoral and the association. Today, about 2.5 hectares are open to visitors. The trail brings together more than 1,500 species and passes through very different settings: the Palm Grove, the Cactus Garden, the Oceanian Garden, the Flowering Heath, the Coastal Forest and the Calvary. Georges Delaselle’s grave, where his ashes were moved in 2008, lies near the Calvary. In spring 2026, a new area inspired by the New Zealand bush opened, with about 150 New Zealand species. The visit now has a real museum dimension. Fully restored, the Villa Nast was inaugurated in 2023. It houses the ticket office and shop, as well as an indoor trail on the life of Georges Delaselle, the history of the garden and plant acclimatisation. One room also hosts temporary art exhibitions. A few months after the Villa Nast opened, Storm Ciarán on 1 and 2 November 2023 badly hit the line of trees that sheltered the garden from the wind. A major restoration campaign followed, and in 2024 the site was chosen as the Finistère winner of the Mission Patrimoine heritage programme. The creation of the New Zealand Garden in 2026 marks a new stage in this rebuilding, while carrying on the acclimatisation dream Georges Delaselle imagined more than a century ago.

What you will see

• An exotic oasis created from 1897 on a former windswept dune on the Île de Batz.
• More than 1,500 plant species from five continents, with a strong presence of plants from the southern hemisphere.
• The Palm Grove, dug up to nearly five metres below the dune to create a microclimate sheltered from the wind.
• A spectacular Cactus Garden with cacti, aloes, agaves, aeoniums and other succulents.
• The Oceanian Garden, devoted to Australia and New Zealand.
• The new New Zealand Garden, opened in 2026, with about 150 species from New Zealand.

Practical information

Address

1 Penn ar C’hléguer, 29253 Île-de-Batz

Parking

In Roscoff before the crossing; several car parks depending on the area and season

Pets

Dogs allowed in the garden on a lead

Accessibility

The garden welcomes people with reduced mobility, with a special rate in 2026; plan for the crossing to the island, the distance from the landing stage and some outdoor paths depending on your mobility

Best time

Spring for new growth and flowers, summer for the lush collections, September and October for a calmer visit in soft light

Frequently asked questions

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