The Albert Kahn Museum's superb Japanese garden and other gardens that take us on a journey

The Musée Albert Kahn has just reopened its doors after 6 years of renovation. It's time to discover the renovated and redesigned museum, its new exhibition that takes us on a journey, and of course its park and estate, a must-see for garden lovers.

We're off to Boulogne-Billancourt, just outside Paris, to discover this unique green space, listed as a Historic Monument at the end of 2015, which transports us into different worlds.

Albert Kahn settled in Boulogne sur Seine in 1893. Initially a tenant in his private mansion, he fell in love with the place and became its owner two years later. An avid gardener, he gradually acquired neighboring plots. In 1910, he ended up with twenty plots covering a total area of 4 hectares.

From 1895 to 1920, Abraham Kahn (real name), the famous philanthropic banker, decided to create a garden of scenes. A great pacifist at heart, he imagined a garden where different cultures would mingle, convinced that knowledge of others would contribute to peace. In this way, his images and gardens enabled the elite of the time to discover the value and richness of cultural diversity.

The result is a personal map of his travels and discoveries. We're off to discover 7 landscape scenes in dialogue with each other. On the program of discoveries :

• The Blue Forest and the marsh,
• The golden forest and the meadow,
• The Vosges forest,
• The French garden and its orchard-rosery,
• The English garden
• The Japanese village
• The contemporary Japanese garden

The Japanese village was created following a trip to Japan in the late 19th century. Albert Kahn commissioned Japanese artists to design the layout and planting. We discover a traditional teahouse and 2 traditional dwellings transported from Japan. You'll be seduced by this harmonious, colorful, almost confidential space, where every element has its place.

Then on to the Contemporary Japanese Garden, a tribute to the life and work of Albert Kahn, created in the 90s by landscape architect Fumiaki Takano. The red bridge is an obvious eye-catcher, and you'll be seduced by the colors of the flowers and the pond where colorful carp zigzag. The path of the water through the garden symbolizes the life of Albert Kahn.

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We then move on to the French garden. We discover 3 geometric blocks, characteristic of French gardens, in front of a large greenhouse still under construction. Roses, fruit trees, herbaceous beds and flowerbeds form the backdrop. It is bordered by two rows of lime and chestnut trees, accentuating the regularity of its design. The ornamental greenhouse, a magnificent piece of late 19th-century ironwork, serves as a winter garden.

We then enter the large forest, which takes us from the Vosges to the meadow, where we discover birch, cedar and other wild plants. The meadow, with its multitude of wild plants, is inspired by a movement born in England at the end of the 19th century, which marked the search for an unfettered nature.

We end with the English garden, characterized by the letting go of nature. This bucolic space features a flower lawn, rockery, pond and waterfall.

In short, if you feel like going green, creating a sublime park and garden while traveling through different places and cultures, this is a walk that's well worth the detour.

Natures vivantes: the photo exhibition showcasing the gardens of the Albert Kahn Museum - photos
The Musée Albert Kahn explores the philanthropist's passion for his gardens, with the photo exhibition Natures vivantes, on view from April 30 to December 31, 2024. [Read more]