Department of Chemistry and BiologyChemistry, Biology, Process Engineering, Biodiversity and Ecology

Discovery and science in the Lautaret garden

An iconic location on the Route des Grandes-Alpes, the Lautaret Garden was created in 1899 on the initiative of Jean-Paul Lachmann, Chair of Botany at the University of Grenoble. He chose to establish his botanical garden at the Lautaret Pass, at an altitude of over 2,000 meters, because of the area's abundant biodiversity, linked to the altitude gradient and the great geological and climatic richness of the site.

This garden has a threefold purpose: to maintain a vast collection of alpine plants, to be a center of science where cutting-edge scientific research can be carried out, and to disseminate scientific knowledge to as many people as possible. More than 125 years later, this raison d'être has not aged a bit!
 

In an incredible landscape setting, 2,000 plant species acclimatized to extreme living conditions, are presented by geographical origin, living environments, botanical classification, and medicinal, toxic, or nutritional properties. Each step takes visitors to a new continent, in a botanical and dreamlike journey around the worldSurrounded by mountains on all sides, the garden winds its way between streams, pontoons, ponds, reconstructed habitats, natural meadows, historic chalets, century-old trees, bird gazebos... until it reaches this unique view of the Meije glaciers, reflected in the water of a small pond, surrounded by flourishing vegetation.
 
But the Lautaret garden is much more than just a tourist garden !

It is one of the scientific research centers of Université Grenoble Alpes the CNRS in the fields of ecology, the environment, the Earth, and the Universe. Researchers from around the world come here to study and experiment with the effects of global changes, both climatic and human, in mountainous regions. Many students and doctoral candidates also come here for internships, training courses, or field school, both in summer and winter.

Visit the Lautaret Garden website