THE TROPICAL AGRONOMY GARDEN

Located at the eastern end of the Bois de Vincennes, the tropical agronomic garden is still a little visited place today, having kept a certain authenticity. This tour will take you to discover this garden with a very unique history. From its opening at the very end of the 19th century to the present day, this garden has evolved enormously. You will discover the colonial past of this garden, the use that was made of it. This was in a way, on a surface of 5 hectares, a synthesis of the French Empire, with represented in the garden the whole in cultures of the old French colonial empire.

The visit will take you into totally different atmospheres, from Indochina with these temples and its luxuriant vegetation passing by the Maghreb and the various pavilions Tunisia, Morocco, Congo, Reunion and many others. This visit allows for an exotic journey in the footsteps of the cultures of the old French empire, all just a few kilometers from Paris!

After being in front of Nogent sur marne station, we will head towards the tropical agronomic garden, a stone’s throw from the station, where the entire visit will take place. After having presented you the great dates which marked the history of this garden and its use throughout the XXth century, we will set off to explore the Asian part of the garden. We will take a closer look at monumental statues from the colonial era and then continue and stop in front of a “stupa”, a monument very common in Buddhist and Hindu culture. Erected in honor of the Cambodian and Laotian colonial soldiers who died during the First World War. It will be interesting to better understand the role that these colonial soldiers had during this first planetary conflict. The tropical agronomic garden will itself be affected by the conflict and will have to adapt.

The arrival will follow on the Dinh esplanade, a magnificent esplanade surmounted by an Indochinese temple, recreated in the same style as the architecture of the royal temple of the imperial city of Hue. You will feel an undeniable change of scenery with a feeling of being transported more than 10,000 kilometers from Paris, within present-day Vietnam.

 He will then have the opportunity to tell you about an event that marked the history of this agronomic garden: the colonial exhibition of 1907 and its 2 million visitors. A true summary of the different cultures that could be found within the French colonial Empire at that time. These colonial exhibitions, although controversial, marked their era, they are indicative of the old French society during its colonial history. We will see the different aspects, sprinkled with multiple anecdotes about this event.

After having visited the Asian part of the garden, the last half hour of this visit will be devoted to its African part where you will be revealed the secrets of the various pavilions (Tunisia, Morocco, Reunion etc …) erected during the colonial exhibition. These pavilions take up the standards of the different colonies concerned and each had very specific functions. 

 This visit taking place in an unusual place, will be a good way for the visitor to make a distant journey within the traditions, customs of the old French colonies. The visitor will be able in a few steps, traveled from Indochina to Tunisia, from Congo to Madagascar via the island of Reunion, all this will get out of the municipal limits of Paris!