La Perrine Park

You’ve arrived at La Perrine Park, Laval’s main public garden. Free and open to everyone, it’s a mix of landscaped park and botanical garden, perched on a promontory overlooking the Mayenne.It’s the perfect spot for a nature break right in the middle of town. The name goes back to the Middle Ages, but it was in 1885 that the city bought the property to turn it into a public garden. A few decades later, in 1920, it was also given a botanical role, which explains the rich plant collections you can still see today: a rose garden, remarkable trees like cedars of Lebanon, lime trees and even palm trees, plus a pond decorated since 1993 with a contemporary sculpture. Designed as a place to stroll, it also features a small animal area and playgrounds. This is also where you’ll find the grave of Henri Rousseau, known as the Douanier Rousseau. His simple tomb bears a handwritten poem by Guillaume Apollinaire, a moving tribute to their friendship. Today the park is a favorite for both locals and visitors. If you have some time, allow forty-five minutes to an hour to explore it at a relaxed pace, especially if you’re with children who will love the animals. As you wander through, look for a rather special tree: the ginkgo biloba, also called the “tree of forty crowns.” It’s an ancient species, almost a living fossil, that appeared long before the dinosaurs. But what made it truly famous is its extraordinary resilience: against time, pollution, and even the atomic bomb. In 1945, several ginkgos survived the Hiroshima disaster, sprouting green and alive again just months later. Ever since, this remarkable tree has become a universal symbol of peace and resilience — so I’ll leave you to go and find it.