Jardin Massey (Tarbes)
Placide Massey, creator and donor of the garden, which bears his name, was born in Tarbes in 1777. He worked in a local herbalist's shop and was passionate about botany. He then joined the Jardin des Plantes in Paris as a naturalist assistant, the Director of which was Ramond de Carbonnière, botanist, pyreneanist and former Massey professor at the École Centrale de Tarbes.
In 1808, Placide Massey became Intendant of the gardens of Queen Hortense; in 1817, he was appointed Inspector in the administration of Parks and in 1819 became Director of the Trianon nurseries, the Versailles vegetable garden, the Sèvres florist and the Saint-Cloud Park.
His reputation as a landscaper was then growing and he was asked for the creation of many gardens in France and abroad. Back in Tarbes in 1850, he took care of the park he had started to develop in 1829, after the purchase of 11 ha of meadows and smallholdings. He died on November 18, leaving his work unfinished and having only had time to define the layout of the garden and to orient its main choices.
He bequeathed his property and most of his property to the City of Tarbes. The work in progress at his death was interrupted, in particular the winter garden which was to be leaned against the main facade of the existing observation tower. To replace this building, the Municipal Council decided in 1880 to proceed with the construction of a monumental greenhouse (orangery). Subsequently, the architect Jean-Jacques Latour, was responsible for drawing up a project to expand the park, including the digging of a lake.
In 1890, the City of Tarbes bought the cloister of the abbey of Saint-Sever-de-Rustan, about to be sold to antiques dealers, and reassembled it in the Massey Garden. These 15th century capitals form an archaeological gallery as curious as it is instructive and recall scenes from the Old and New Testaments, the legends of Saint Jacques, Saint Georges, Saint Nicolas, the fable of Master Renard, the chimeras, the sculptural flora and fauna, the whole is classified as a historical monument.
Over the years, various sculptures will adorn the lawns, such as the bust of Massey, the Saint Cristophe by Coutan, the bust of Jules Lafforgues, a work by Firmin Michelet, the Ouragan Bronze by Desca, the marble Tacheron by Ludovic Durand or again the bust of Théophile Gautier, the work of his daughter Judith Gautier.
A bandstand near the small lake and the Fine Arts Museum complete the cultural facilities of the Massey Garden.
The flora of this garden is made up of a large number of plants of exotic and European origin, remarkable for their beauty and the diversity of their essences. There are thus 1370 trees, most of them hundred years old, and 3800 shrubs. This rich collection comes from all five parts of the world and species of exotic origin represent 55% of the plantations. Discreet labeling makes it easier to identify subjects. "
Coming to Jardin Massey
Hotels : book on Hotels.com Booking Expedia Abritel Stay22
Taxi : book on Taxi Booking
By plane :
- Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées airport at 6mi : book on Volotea
- Pau airport at 27mi : book on Trip.com
- Agen-La Garenne airport at 70mi : book on Trip.com
near
- Hotels in Tarbes
- Jardin Massey (Tarbes) at 0m↑
- Musée Massey et Musée International des Hussards (Tarbes) at 260ft↑
- École Supérieure d'Art des Pyrénées (Tarbes) at 260ft↑
- NexHotel (Tarbes) at 730ft↑
- Le Nex2 (Tarbes) at 730ft↑
- L'Entracte (Tarbes) at 740ft↑
- Les Galopins (Tarbes) at 750ft↑
- la Perle d'Asie (Tarbes) at 810ft↑
- Le Shelby (Tarbes) at 850ft↑
- Le 103 - Archives municipales (Tarbes) at 900ft↑
- Quartier de l'Arsenal (Tarbes) at 910ft↑
- Ecole des danses (Tarbes) at 920ft↑
- for Tarbes Laloubère airport at 2mi↑
- for Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées airport at 6mi↑
- for Ponson Dessus airport at 8mi↑
info and shows of Jardin Massey
info and shows around Jardin Massey
Saturday, June 20, 2026
we saw
Fête de la Musique à Tarbes et en Hautes-Pyrénées
The music festival was delayed but still lively
After a start hampered by the heatwave, the Fête de la Musique resumed its course and brought the people of Tarbes out into the open.
Saturday, May 30, 2026
interviews
Béatrice Dutrey baila y hace bailar a otros por la calidad del movimiento.
A leading figure in contemporary dance in Tarbes, Béatrice Dutrey answered our questions a few days before the regional meetings and a few weeks before her grand gala on the stage of the Parvis.
Saturday, May 9, 2026
interviews
Pascal Caumont and the polyphonies of Tarba en Canta
Three weeks before the polyphony festival which will take place from June 3 to 7, Pascal Caumont takes the time for an interview to talk to us about the place occupied by singing, whether from the…
Saturday, April 18, 2026
interviews
Laure Bertrand, at the helm of Tarbes' culture
Deputy Mayor for Culture in the new municipal team, Laure Bertrand answers our questions to find out her vision of what Tarbes' cultural policy could be.
Photos around Jardin Massey
