Jardin Massey (Tarbes)

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. "

weather : sky clear at Tarbes

64°F
at 1007ft
63 to 86°F

wind ↑ 7mph

Coming to Jardin Massey

Hotels : book on Hotels.com Booking Expedia

Taxi : book on Taxi Booking

Rent a car : book on Rentalcars

By train : book on SNCF Connect

• Tarbes train station at 0mi
• Ossun train station at 6mi
• Tournay train station at 9mi

By plane :

• Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées airport at 6mi : book on Volotea
• Pau Pyrénées airport at 27mi : book on Trip.com
• Agen-La Garenne airport at 70mi : book on Trip.com

To travel

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↑

News et spectacles de Jardin Massey

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Nous avons vu

Festival Rockabilly

Le festival rockabilly fait swinguer le jardin Massey

Trooper’s Swing Band

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News et spectacles à Tarbes

Saturday, March 29, 2025

Interview

At the Valera Gallery, art has a street-level presence

François Valera

The last of the Tarbes galleries, the Valera Gallery, brings painting to the market between the poultry market and the Halle Marcadieu. A meeting with François Valera.

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

News

Le BIA (Brevet d'Initiation Aéronautique)

Un ancien élève maintenant dans l'Armée de l'air remet les diplômes du BIA au Lycée Jean Dupuy

C'est avec des paillettes plein les yeux que les lauréats du Brevet d'Initiation aéronautique reçoivent des mains de Romain leur diplôme brillamment obtenu.

Saturday, January 18, 2025

News

Salon du mariage, du pacs et de la fête

Le week-end du mariage

A quelques mois du boom des mariages, la CCI Tarbes et Hautes-Pyrénées organisait ce week-end un salon du mariage, du pacs et de la fête bien à propos.

Saturday, December 14, 2024

Interview

Marie-Pierre Vieu, autrice et éditrice à Tarbes

Marie-Pierre Vieu

Après des années de mandats politiques, de conseillère municipale d'opposition à Tarbes au Parlement Européen, Marie-Pierre Vieu est revenue aux livres qu’elle écrit ou qu’elle publie avec…

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Photos around Jardin Massey