Mediterranean Garden Society
Mediterranean Garden Society
AGM tour – Tuesday 13 to Tuesday 20 October 2026
The photo at the top of this page shows Ville de Grasse
Côte d’Azur : Gardens, towns and villages (France / Italy)
Tour description
Arrival of participants in Nice. Transfer to the hotel arranged by participants. Check-in at the Hotel Saint Paul in Nice. Welcome cocktail for all participants. Dinner at leisure and overnight stay.
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Departure by coach to the Hanbury Garden, Italy, for a full day visit.
This wonderful garden has spectacular views over the Mediterranean. It includes several zones: a succulent and arid plant zone, Australian forest and trees, aromatic garden, citrus groves, pergolas, fountains, terraces as well as remainders of an ancient roman road.
Picnic included in the café located close to sea level. Return to the hotel. Dinner at leisure. Overnight stay.
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Departure by coach to Menton. We will start the day with a visit to the Val Rameh Garden, which houses an exceptional plant collection of 1,800 subtropical, tropical and Mediterranean species. There, along shady paths and dense foliage, in the coolness of fountains and pools, a peaceful haven of 1.5 hectares is offered to you. Late morning, we will walk from the garden to the old town of Menton. Lunch at leisure.
Afternoon: Guided visit of Menton Old Town: An opportunity to discover the different styles of architecture (Italian and ‘Belle Epoque’) and to learn about the fascinating history of this charming town on the seaside. Return to the hotel, dinner at leisure and overnight stay.
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Departure by coach to the Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat peninsula. In the morning, guided visit of the impressive Ephrussi de Rothschild Villa and Garden; a Belle Époque masterpiece offering themed gardens and breathtaking sea views. After the visit, departure to Beaulieu-sur-Mer.
Lunch at leisure in Beaulieu-sur-Mer. In the afternoon, audio-guided visit of Villa Kérylos and gardens, a reconstruction of an ancient Greek villa on the seaside, where architecture and history meet. Return to the hotel. Dinner at leisure and overnight stay.
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Departure to Nice city centre. Half-day guided tour to see and hear about the cultural and historical heritage of Nice during the period of the English aristocracy. Discovery of palaces, villas, grand hotels and hotels reflecting English influence and Belle Époque architecture (exterior views). Lunch at leisure. The afternoon will be dedicated to a free visit of the city’s gardens and/or old town of Nice. (Castle Hill, Coulée Verte) Return to the hotel, dinner at leisure and overnight stay.
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Visit to the terraced private garden Jardin Fort France in Grasse, a magnificent Mediterranean terraced garden classified as a “Jardin Remarquable”. Valérie de Courcel, the owner (and painter), has brought her artistic sensitivity to the garden for 30 years through the constant search for harmony of colours and shapes and the integration of plants into their environment.
(Note: groups will be split to respect visitor capacity and alternate between morning and afternoon.)
Lunch at a restaurant in Grasse (included)
Visit to the renowned Fragonard perfume factory in Grasse, where you will learn the secrets of harvesting local flowers and creating perfumes.
Afternoon: guided visit of the gardens of the International Perfume Museum (MIP) offering a great diversity of Mediterranean plants, roses, fruit trees and citrus trees. You will discover the plants which have provided precious raw materials for the perfumery industry for centuries. Beautifully set in the heart of fields of perfume plants traditionally cultivated in the Grasse area, the gardens of the International Perfume Museum are part of the territorial project led by the ‘Pays de Grasse’ Community and thus serve as the museum’s conservatory of perfume plants, a natural space bearing witness to the olfactory landscape linked to local agriculture. Return to the hotel, dinner at leisure and overnight stay.
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Departure by coach to Monaco, where we will visit the recently renovated Exotic Garden, an impressive garden housing a collection of rare plants and offering a spectacular view over the sea and Principality.
Lunch at leisure. In the afternoon, time to visit other Monaco gardens around the Palace area & old town. Return to the hotel, dinner at leisure and overnight stay.
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. End of the trip
Download this itinerary as a pdf document
TOTAL PRICE PER PERSON IN EUROS
Registration
This event is open only to fully paid up MGS members. To secure a place, via the portal on the MGS website (link below) fill in the registration form. You will be contacted by email and if your request is successful, asked to pay the MGS a non refundable registration fee by bank transfer. The cost of the tour will be invoiced by our travel agent at a later date. Due to practical constraints, there is a limit of 50 places, so early booking is recommended.
Register here for the AGM 2026 Tour
Cancellation
The MGS reserves the right to cancel the AGM in the event of circumstances beyond its control.
Disclaimer
This programme is as complete as possible at the time of publication, but the cost and itinerary may be subject to changes. If you take part in a Mediterranean Garden Society event, you do so entirely at your own risk. Neither the Mediterranean Garden Society, nor the organisers and/or tour leaders of these events are in any way responsible for the safety of those taking part. The organisers reserve the right to make changes to the programme due to unforeseen circumstances and/or inclement weather.
THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN is the registered trademark of The Mediterranean Garden Society in the European Union, Australia, and the United States of America