JardifolizA weekend in the gardens of Courseulles, eight kilometres from the campsite
For one weekend in late May, around thirty residents of Courseulles-sur-Mer open their gardens to the public and hand them over to artists: sculptures among the flower beds, music along the paths, and gardeners happy to talk about their plants.
Jardifoliz grew from the simplest of ideas: open private gardens and let artists into them. For almost twenty years, on the last weekend of May, some thirty gardens in Courseulles-sur-Mer have let visitors wander through, with exhibitions, sculptures and concerts set among the planting. It is a community event, very well attended but never noisy, and a lovely way to see what really grows beside the Channel. Camping La Capricieuse is eight kilometres away.
The dates
Every year- Late Mayone weekend
- Saturdayin the afternoon
- Sundayfrom late morning until evening
The participating gardens open on Saturday afternoon and on Sunday from late morning. The garden map and the programme of events are published each spring by the organising association.
Getting there
From the campsite- 8 kmto Courseulles
- 12 minby car
- By bikealong the coast
Courseulles-sur-Mer is reached by the coast road from Luc-sur-Mer. Once there, everything is done on foot: the gardens are spread through the streets of the town, map in hand.
Useful to know
Before you go- Around thirtygardens open
- On footfrom one garden to the next
- Artistsexhibiting along the paths
These are private gardens, opened by their owners for the weekend: you move through them quietly, without picking anything or straying from the paths. Access arrangements are set out each year by the association.
Jardifoliz, seen from the campsite
Thirty gardens, thirty styles
Town gardens, cottage gardens, raised vegetable beds, collections of perennials or carefully managed chaos: the charm of Jardifoliz lies in the variety of places and in the presence of the owners, who talk about their experiments, their failures and the plants that really stand up to the sea wind.
Each garden hosts one or more artists — painters, sculptors, photographers — and often musicians too. You move from one to the next on foot, map in hand, in no set order.
Courseulles, the harbour and the oysters
Courseulles-sur-Mer is the harbour town of the Côte de Nacre: a channel, fishing boats, a fish market and oyster beds that supply the whole region. You eat well there, ten minutes from the campsite.
Courseulles is also home to the Juno Beach Centre, the Canadian D-Day museum: enough to round out a late-May weekend, when the coast is still quiet and the beaches belong to walkers.
Late May, the start of the season
In late May the Côte de Nacre emerges from winter: the days are long, the beaches empty and campsite rates the lowest of the season. The heated water park is open; the sea rather less so.
It is the ideal time for a first weekend in Normandy: Jardifoliz on Saturday, the D-Day beaches on Sunday, and back to a cottage fifty metres from the sand.
Frequently asked questions about Jardifoliz
What is Jardifoliz?+
When does Jardifoliz take place?+
How far is Courseulles-sur-Mer from the campsite?+
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The other events
Le Sentier des Arts
D-Day Festival Normandy
Les Grandes Mêlées d’Ornavik
The Whale Rafts
The Tribute Fest
Festival Beauregard
Bayeux Medieval Festival
The XSMOZ Festival
The Acadian Week
The Sea Festival
The Langrune float parade
The Sâoticot festival
Rétro Festival in Caen
The Baronnie Festival
The Normandy Beach Race
Les Équidays
Halloween at the campsite
All the events
Your base camp in Normandy
Five-star cottages, a heated water park and the beach fifty metres away, in Luc-sur-Mer.
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