Montluçon’s Flora and Fauna

9 April 2025

Welcome to the article that aims to list the flora and fauna of Montluçon.

Landscape and Plant Heritage of the City

Jardin Wilson

This 12,000 m² tiered garden was created in 1937 and named in honor of Thomas Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States. Its classification in 1952 helped protect the medieval city’s ramparts as a picturesque and historic site.

Designed in the French classical style, the garden includes:

a circular pond
a perspective fountain called the Tapis Vert
a recreated 15th-century arcade
a children’s playground
a terrace with a bust of André Messager, a Montluçon-born composer and former director of the Paris Opera

The garden also features topiary in various shapes, created from several types of plants:

Yew
Boxwood
Chamaecyparis
Thuja

Several rare plant species are also found here in the rose garden:

Poncirus trifoliata
Euonymus myrianthus
Blue Atlas Cedar

Jardin Luis-Neillot

Dedicated to the Bourbonnais painter, this marsh garden features a classical style in the lower area and a “natural” layout in the upper part. In the lower section, you’ll find double rows of lime trees, grassy lawns, rose bushes and shrubs surrounding an octagonal pond. The upper part includes tulip trees, upright oaks, weeping sequoias, Judas trees, and magnolias.

Parc Saint-Jean

This 3-hectare park includes 19,000 m² of lawn and blends classical and landscaped garden styles. Loved by both children and adults for its playground and 400-tree crown, it also features a small stream and an island, home to black swans and ducks.

Trees in Parc Saint-Jean include:

Oaks
Lime trees
Sweetgum trees
Taxodiums
A giant sequoia (over 5 meters in circumference)

Villa Louvière Park

Inspired by the Petit Trianon of Versailles, this site was created in 1926 by the Montluçon industrialist Mr. Troubat, who designed the plans himself.

The park includes many plant species such as lime trees, kiwis, chamaecyparis, eleagnus, as well as sculptures and an aviary.

Parc des Ilets

Oaks, acacias, and spruces give this 25,000 m² space a wooded feel. It includes playgrounds for children in the undergrowth and free-access fitness areas. Adjacent to the Boris Vian cultural center—which includes the media library, national music school, national drama center, and modern art fund—this park is a family gathering place. Located near the city center, it is home to wildlife such as squirrels, voles, sparrows, robins, and more.

Domaine des Réaux

At the city’s edge, the municipal Domaine des Réaux offers a beautiful green escape. Every Saturday at 9 p.m., the Montluçon Astronomy Club hosts telescope observation nights (details on astrosurf.com/carm). The Montluçon beekeeping school also provides opportunities to explore the fascinating world of bees.

Since 2014, the Réaux orchard has joined the Auvergne Network of Conservatory Orchards. Since May 1998, the area has also been a L.P.O. sanctuary, with guided nature visits organized by the League for the Protection of Birds.

The Gorges of the Upper Cher

A natural area part of the Natura 2000 network, the Gorges of the Cher offer spectacular scenery and shelter a unique ecosystem of flora and fauna:

Reptiles
Birds of prey
Butterflies
Rare protected species like the yellow-bellied toad

Three footbridges allow visitors to cross the Cher River between Lignerolles and Saint-Genest. These remarkable landscapes are best enjoyed around Saint-Genest and Sainte-Thérence.

The Château de l’Ours, located where the Ours stream meets the Cher, reveals its 12th-century ruins atop a rocky ridge covered in boxwood heath—an emblematic landscape of the Combraille. The Gorges are also a playground for thrill-seekers.

The Slopes of Nerdre

Under Natura 2000, ecological assessments and brush clearing work have helped reduce colonization by ferns and shrubs on these aging heathlands.

The restoration and sustainable management of this area helped preserve Heather (Erica cinerea) and Calluna vulgaris.

The Conservatory Orchard of Réaux

A Treasure of Biodiversity

Overlooking Montluçon, the Conservatory Orchard of Réaux stretches across 1.5 hectares, split into 2 plots. Originally planted in 1954, it has been enhanced since 2010 through a partnership with the Conservatory of Natural Spaces (CEN) and the Montluçon and Cher Valley region.

It is home to 83 fruit varieties and 200 fruit trees:

Sweet green pear of Montluçon
Lemon Madeleine pear
Armistice cherry
Golden curtain apple of Courçais
Onion apples
Late blooming apples
And many more…

The Montluçon region is proud of its fruit-growing tradition. Orchards and vineyards were once abundant along the slopes of the Cher. Towns like Domérat, Désertines, and Estivareilles were renowned for cherries that were sold all the way to Paris!

A symbol of Montluçon, the Sweet green pear of Montluçon was officially documented as early as the 19th century. It inspired local specialties such as Poirat à la Sucrée Verte and Piquenchâgne.

The orchard’s conversion into a conservatory was completed in collaboration with the Pomology Center of Alès, connecting it to a national network of orchards.

Urban Tree Heritage

Originally dominated by three main species (plane trees, lime trees, and horse chestnuts), Montluçon has been diversifying its urban tree canopy since 1988. New species introduced include redbuds, sweetgums, ginkgo, pyrus, oaks, ashes, tulip trees, maples, cherry trees, and more.

Due to climate change, Montluçon’s Green Spaces Department has observed that ash, oak, birch, cedar, and Scots pine are increasingly struggling. In response, the city is now planting species better suited to drought and heat, especially those from southern France:

Holm oak (Quercus ilex)
Turkey oak (Quercus cerris)
Sessile oak (Quercus petraea)
Downy oak (Quercus pubescens)
Persian silk tree (Albizia julibrissin)
European hackberry (Celtis australis)
Montpellier maple (Acer monspessulanum)
Italian maple (Acer opalus)
European hop-hornbeam (Ostrya carpinifolia)
Spanish fir (Abies pinsapo)

In parallel, Montluçon Community also organizes several public awareness events:

Creation of a conservation-focused nursery
Joining the Auvergne conservatory orchard network
“Croq’en fruits” festival
Community garden in the Pierre Leroux district
Shared orchard in Bien-Assis neighborhood
Public visits to the floral production center
Event flower displays
Garden tours
Ongoing media coverage
Information about invasive species

Nature Reserve of Étang des Landes

The diverse vegetation of the Étang des Landes makes it an ideal habitat for a wide variety of animal species. The reserve is home to an extraordinary wealth of birds, with over 240 species observed.

In total, more than 950 animal species have been recorded at the Étang des Landes reserve, including over 240 bird species.

On the Migratory Path

Migratory Birds

More than 60 bird species breed at the site, such as the Purple Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, and Sedge Warbler. A hundred others, like the Osprey, Common Crane, and various waders, either overwinter or make a stopover during their long migrations.

Among the most commonly seen birds are: the Mute Swan, Common Pochard, Grey Heron, Mallard, Eurasian Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Great Cormorant, Black-headed Gull, Eurasian Teal, Great Egret, and Common Snipe. With a trained eye and some luck, you may spot rarer species like the Sedge Warbler, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Greylag Goose, or the elusive Spotted Crake.

Dragonflies and Amphibians

Beyond the birds, other hidden gems abound. Étang des Landes boasts the greatest diversity of dragonflies in the Limousin, with over 40 species recorded. Notably, the Golden-ringed Dragonfly (Sympetrum flaveolum) has been observed reproducing along the pond’s vegetated banks in the “Ermite” sector.

Monitoring of the site’s ponds also revealed a thriving population of the Great Crested Newt (Triturus cristatus), with at least four ponds colonized by this iconic amphibian.

In springtime, you’ll hear the chorus of European tree frogs at dusk. This is also when otters, one of the reserve’s most elusive residents, begin to roam. Bats, such as the globally vulnerable Barbastelle, also take flight over the site at night for their hunting rounds.

Sensitive Natural Area of La Vauvre

Located near the Cher River, the Sensitive Natural Area of La Vauvre covers 46 hectares. It includes an alluvial forest known as the “Warbler Island,” meadows, and a pond created from a former gravel pit used during the construction of the A71 motorway.

Open year-round, the Vauvre site is a place dedicated to raising awareness about nature conservation.

Visitors can explore 3.5 kilometers of trails that loop around the area. About twenty educational panels provide information about local animal and plant species, habitats, and ecological management practices. Observation hides are placed throughout the path for wildlife viewing.

Wintering Birds Refuge

La Vauvre is a regionally important site for wintering birds, especially ducks (several hundred every winter). Remarkable species can also be spotted, including the Scarce Copper butterfly, Black Kite, and Red-backed Shrike. Both the European beaver and otter inhabit the Cher River and pond.

LPO Auvergne is responsible for managing this site, which is owned by the Communauté de Communes du Val de Cher.

Since 2011, numerous initiatives have taken place annually to restore natural environments, raise public awareness, and conduct biodiversity inventories.