A couple of weeks ago, shortly after it opened we visited Terra Botanica
near Angers in the Pays de la Loire, France. It is being called the
garden theme park. There are four specific sections all surrounding the
heart of the park, the heart is where the restaurant is. Entry to each
of the sections is across part grass part concrete pathways and with the
sun and many feet the grass is very quickly going to become just bare
earth though they are watering it very thoroughly which sadly means some
areas of grass are like walking through areas that are an inch deep in
water.

In some of the areas there are 3D and 4D animations though you will need
to understand French to listen to them. There are also a few cinemas -
some with English subtitles, and a few areas like an overhead cycle
track and a boat ride that are pleasant.

The planting is very young and will need time to develop before there is
any real impact and there are at present large expanses of bare soil.
Unfortunately there are places where the soil has fallen into the water
features and instead of seeing nice clear water flowing we see murky water.

In maybe three or four years time the park will be much more worth a
visit when there is major growth and they have sorted out the teething
problems. The entry fee is very steep at 17 Euros 50 an adult.

Also the food is a big disappointment. The menu is presented by a one
star chef from Angers but consists of a "Hambur" which is basically a
roll with a piece of precessed meat in it that was impossible to bite
into, that is either meat or vegetarian, served with a small portion of
french fries that were not very good. You get a soft drink included in
the price of 9 Euros 90 but if you have a dessert as well it is another
3 Euros. We had the fruit salad which was half an apple, 2 pieces of
pineapple and 3 pieces of melon. And sad to say the Hambur was cold as
it was just taken out of a cupboard and not prepared in front of you to
your tastes as the publicity states.

With the beautiful gardens at Villandry just twenty minutes from us we
were very disappointed with Terra Botanica.

But last week we visited the Oriental Garden at Maulevrier and were very
impressed. The gardens there were created about 100 years ago but went
into decline in the mid 20th century before the town bought the gardens
about 30 years ago and redeveloped them. The gardens are very beautiful
and very relaxing to visit with plenty of places to sit and just view
them. It felt that round every corner there was something different to
see and in the summer we will go back for the nocturnal visit. Also the
entry fee is very reasonable at 6 Euros per adult during the day and 10
Euros for the night visit.

I have added pictures of the aforementioned gardens on our website at
http://www.lacroixjoreau.com under the pictures section

On 05/03/2010 11:09 PM, La Croix Joreau wrote:
With the beautiful gardens at Villandry just twenty minutes from us we
were very disappointed with Terra Botanica.

Terra Botanica has been plastering advertising in every cafe, even in
Normandy. I just chucked out a flyer from the car today. In Paris the
parents association school newsletter had a 2 page colour spread. So
they've got some serious backing, anyway.

Villandry is a lovely garden in all seasons, but especially in spring
when the apple and pear espaliers are blooming. Must have been a treat.

-E