Jardin d'Essai

Lonely Planet review

Another grand civic project planted by the French, the Jardin d'Essai dates to the first years of their occupation. In the early 1830s, as soon as the French were in control of Algiers, land was set aside for a model farm and a garden in which they could try out various plants. The idea was to test what would grow best here, given the soil and climate, in the hope of improving crop yields and greening the landscape.

The model farm disappeared, but the Jardin D'essai flourished and by the end of the 19th century was one of the world's great natural hothouses. It has continued to develop and is currently undergoing improvements. A place of outstanding beauty, when it reopens it will once again be somewhere to escape from the overwhelming whiteness of the city, among the avenues of palms, the stands of exotic trees and the rows of plants