Côté Jardins

Biodiversity Within Reach

Launched in 2021 by the City of Villeurbanne, the Côté Jardins festival has become in just a few editions the unmissable event for lovers of urban nature. For a week in April, this free and participatory festival transforms the city's parks, gardens, and green spaces into a playground for discovery and wonder.

A Rich and Family-Friendly Program

The festival offers a varied program designed for all ages: craft workshops (making bird feeders, aromatic spirals, paper flowers), conferences on biodiversity and human-animal coexistence in the city, bike rides to discover community gardens, participatory karaoke on nature songs, and nature outings to observe bats, pond wildlife, and park birds. A joyful program that blends science, art, and conviviality.

The Grand Plant Market

Highlight of the festival: the grand plant market that concludes the week. About forty exhibitors offer a wide selection of plants—aromatic herbs, perennials, cacti, vegetable seedlings—adapted to all budgets and all types of housing, from balconies to gardens. An opportunity to green your home while benefiting from the expert advice of passionate nursery owners, all along Avenue Henri-Barbusse.

Villeurbanne, a Green City

Coordinated by Camille Dassonville, biodiversity project manager at the City of Villeurbanne, the festival is part of an ambitious policy to promote urban nature. Activities take place in various locations: Parc des Droits-de-l'Homme, Jardin de la Filature, Parc des Hérissons, Jardin Potakin, and many other green spaces in Villeurbanne. An invitation to see the city differently and to care for the living world around us.