The Gardens of Etretat - an amazing and crazy place imbued with the spirit of creativity (13 photos) Photo)

The Gardens of Étretat is a park located in Normandy, in northwestern France. This place is considered not only a masterpiece of landscape gardening but also a true wonder of the world. The park covers only 2 hectares, but this small area contains a collection of natural and man-made wonders.





How France's most unusual park came to be

This amazing park owes much of its existence to the great French artist Claude Monet. He was not only one of the founding fathers of Impressionism but also a passionate gardener. When the Parisian actress Madame Thibaud decided to create a park in 1903, Monet became one of her inspirations.



Claude Monet

Madame Thibaud hired local gardener Auguste Lecan to realize her project. But it was Claude Monet who created the park's concept, which has survived to this day. They chose an unusual spot for planting trees, beautifully named Côte d'Albâtre. These are picturesque alabaster cliffs located on the coast of Normandy. The vegetation in this area was stunted and monotonous, but this did not deter enthusiasts.

Thanks to the skill of the gardener Lecan, the white cliffs soon turned green, making this natural wonder even more spectacular. Concurrently with the park's development, Madame Thibault's country house was being built. The owner named it "Villa Roxelane," after Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent's Ukrainian wife, Roxelana. At the turn of the 20th century, the romantic love story of the world's greatest monarch and a simple concubine was very popular in France.





Cliffs of Etretat, Normandy, France

Near the villa, flower beds were laid out and greenhouses were built. In them, the actress kept the finest collection of orchids in the country, and perhaps in all of Europe. She told her guests that these flowers represented the wives and concubines of the Sultan's harem. Interestingly, it was Thibaud who became the best performer of the theatrical role of Roxolana in France. It's possible that it was the gardens of Etretat, imbued with an oriental spirit, that helped her embrace this challenging role for a Frenchwoman.



The Spirit of Creativity

The creation of the Etretat gardens took several years. When everything was ready, the first visitors were struck by the park's natural beauty and, at the same time, strict orderliness. Lecan carefully selected trees, shrubs, and even grasses to seamlessly blend his man-made creation into the harsh Norman landscape.



The park's main terrace is located on the steep cliff of Amont, offering a fantastic view of the English Channel. Claude Monet was the first to choose this spot. Later, other artists began visiting, including the Impressionists Edgar Degas and Henri Matisse. Thus, from the very beginning, the gardens of Étretat gained fame as a creative destination.



The park is now in good hands. Its preservation and development is under the care of one of the world's finest landscape designers, Alexander Grivko. He has not only carefully preserved the gardens' artistic essence but also enhanced it. The renovated park opened to visitors in 2017. His work earned him the 2019 European Garden Award for "Best Restoration of a Historic Garden."

Wonders of the Gardens of Etretat



The park is now divided into several thematic zones. One of them is called "Emotions and the Ocean Floor." Grivko was inspired by the oyster farms for which Normandy has long been famous. The zone is decorated with shells made from shrubs—evergreen boxwood and Japanese cypress. Among the plants are sculptures in the shape of faces expressing various emotions. They have a secret—the faces are mobile, and their expressions change!



The park is full of unusual, strange, and even crazy things. How about this tree with a huge key? It's not just a spectacular installation, but a real music box implanted in the trunk. The composition is called "Clockwork Forest," and it was created by London-based artists from the Grey World team.



This eerie art piece is called "The Queue for the Last Tree." It was created specifically for the Etretat Gardens by sculptor Viktor Shostalo. The figure isn't always standing by the beech tree's trunk—it often "tour[sic]" around the world.



These unusual, massive benches were donated to the Etretat Gardens by German designer Thomas Rösler. They are one-of-a-kind, carved from petrified oak.



The park also features the project's original inspiration, Claude Monet. His wicker figure adorns the most popular viewing platform of the Étretat gardens. Naturally, the Impressionist is depicted at work, as if painting the alabaster cliffs opposite from life.



But the park isn't only adorned with works by contemporary sculptors. Alexander Grivko managed to restore Madame Thibault's orchid collection using her notes, drawings, and photographs.



The Etretat Gardens are protected by UNESCO, and every tree and bush is protected. Tens of thousands of tourists visit the park annually. Guests are drawn not only by the natural beauty and art objects, but also by the festivals that have been held here regularly for many years.