International Rose Garden

You are now in the park’s Grande Roseraie Internationale, a place that tells a story far beyond flowers alone. Lyon is home today to one of the world’s finest rose collections because the city has maintained a special connection with this flower for generations. As early as the 19th century, Lyon became a major center for horticultural creation, thanks to renowned rose-growing families such as the Guillots, Pernet-Duchers, and Meillands, who helped make the city a global reference in rose hybridization. The creation of this rose garden naturally grew out of that tradition. Launched in 1960 at the initiative of Mayor Louis Pradel, it reflected an ambition: to make Tête d’Or Park a showcase for Lyon’s expertise while creating a garden open to the world. The location was carefully chosen. This large meadow, little visited at the time, already had beautiful trees, views over the lake, and enough space to create a spectacular garden without disrupting the park’s grand perspectives. Inaugurated in 1964 after four years of work, Lyon’s International Rose Garden features varieties from many parts of the world and highlights the city’s role in the world of roses. Today, the park also hosts a dedicated area for the International Competition of New Roses, where new creations are tested and awarded. The rose garden is open year-round, but it is from late spring to early summer, during the peak blooming season, that it reveals its full beauty, with thousands of roses in flower.