Botanical Garden (Part 2)

The Botanical Garden is one of Montpellier's oldest attractions, and its five centuries of history are full of surprises. As you wander the paths — which are free to access — you’ll come across some fascinating hidden gems. One standout is a towering ginkgo biloba, among the first of its kind ever planted in France. In the 1840s, botanist Raffeneau-Delile grafted female shoots onto it to make it self-fertilizing, and many of France’s ginkgo trees today descend from this very one. Nearby, on Richer Mountain — the garden’s oldest section — you’ll find a broad-leaved phillyrea from the olive family, believed to be around 400 years old. Locals call it the “wishing tree” and for decades visitors have been slipping handwritten wishes into the hollow of its branches or trunk. Scattered throughout the garden are artistic touches too, like the Rabelais monument, unveiled in 1921 for the 700th anniversary of the medical school. The bust of François Rabelais is surrounded by portraits of his famous characters Gargantua and Pantagruel, along with a bas-relief of “The Farce of the Mute Woman,” a once-popular play where a woman's silence is played for laughs. Understandably, it hasn’t aged particularly well.. But the garden has also been a peaceful meeting place for two literary giants — André Gide and Paul Valéry — who often gathered near a spot known as Narcissa’s tomb. Legend says she was the daughter-in-law of English poet Edward Young, buried here in secret because of her Anglican faith. While records suggest she actually died in Lyon and was never in Montpellier, the tale persists, and English visitors still come to pay their respects. One burial that is very real, however, is that of Charles-Louis Dumas, the first dean of the medical school in 1808 and later rector of the university. He asked to be buried by the southern water wheel facing the school — and his wish was granted in 1813. Whether you’re into science, literature, or local legends, the Botanical Garden is full of stories just waiting to be uncovered.