Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Domaine Les Cèdres is a villa built in 1830 in a Sardinian style, located on the peninsula of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. It is surrounded by a park of 14 hectares, now classified as a botanical garden, housing more than 14,000 species of tropical plants. The heated greenhouses and plant collections, including araucarias introduced by the architect Harold Peto, make it an exceptional site on the French Riviera.

In 1850, the property was acquired by David Désiré Pollonais, mayor of Villefranche-sur-Mer, who initiated the first exotic plantations. In 1904 it became the residence of the Belgian king, Leopold II, before being transformed into a hospital during the First World War. The Marnier-Lapostolle family, creator of the Grand Marnier, took possession of it in 1924 and considerably developed the botanical collections.

Since 1976, the garden is owned by Marnier-Lapostolle and sold in 2019 to Rinat Akhmetov for 200 million euros. The villa and its park, including a chapel and garden factories, are partially classified as Historic Monument in 2021. The site remains a place of botanical conservation and visit, testifying to its history linked to European aristocracy and horticulture.

The estate also includes the chapel Saint-François-de-Sales, protected with gardens and greenhouses. Its official address, according to the Merimée base, includes several routes of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, confirming its anchoring in this emblematic territory of the Côte d'Azur.

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