Les Jardins Exotiques de Bouknadel, Rabat

Les Jardins Exotiques de Bouknadel are gardens open to the public, located north of Salé. They were created from 1949 by the French horticultural engineer Marcel François.

The gardens were created by the French horticultural engineer Marcel François (1900-1999) on land he had purchased in 1949. He wanted to produce tropical aquarium plants there in the open air which would then be shipped and marketed in France. He built his home on this land, which has now become the museum, and undertook the creation of the gardens: alongside the production of plants, he intended to develop there a scenography for educational and ecological purposes which presents gardens from different parts of the world. . The gardens were opened to the public in 1961.

In 1973, “Moroccanization” transferred ownership of the gardens to the Moroccan State (Ministry of Agriculture), but Marcel François remained the manager. In 1981, he lost control of the site, which led him to leave Morocco definitively in 1984. The gardens then experienced a period of abandonment.

In 2002, the BMCE Foundation for Education and the Environment, in association with the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, chaired by Princess Lalla Hasnaa, daughter of King Hassan II, undertook the rehabilitation of the gardens, which opened to the public again in 2005.

Exotic gardens include many diverse spaces. The "Nature Gardens" are inspired by the wild nature of various regions of the globe (Antilles, Congo, shrubby savannah, Brazil, etc.), while the "Culture Gardens" refer to spaces marked by the hand of man. : Andalusian garden, Chinese garden, Japanese garden.

The museum, installed in the former house of Marcel François, presents the history of the site, from its creation to its recent renovation, as well as the actions of the Mohammed VI Foundation for the protection of the environment. The gardens also house an aviary, a vivarium (reptiles) and a maze.

The gardens are open every day, except Monday mornings and for the Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr holidays, from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. in autumn and winter and 7 p.m. 30 in spring and summer. Admission is chargeable. Guided tours are organized for groups. The Moorish Café located inside the gardens, near the entrance, offers light meals and refreshments. A kiosk located near the museum offers drinks, ice cream, etc.