建园背景与百年沿革
摩纳哥异国情调花园（Jardin Exotique de Monaco）位于摩纳哥公国 Monaco-Ville 西南侧的悬崖之上，由摩纳哥亲王阿尔贝一世（Prince Albert I）于 1913 年下令兴建，1916 年施工时发现著名的「观测者洞穴」（Grotte de l’Observatoire），1933 年 2 月 13 日由路易二世亲王（Prince Louis II）正式揭幕，迄今已运营逾百年。花园的缘起可追溯到 1895 年——时任摩纳哥国家园林首席园丁 Augustin Gastaud 在圣马丁花园（Jardin St-Martin）开始引种源自墨西哥的多肉植物，这批充满异域色彩的「仙人掌与龙舌兰」收藏引起阿尔贝一世亲王的浓厚兴趣，最终促成一座以多肉植物为主题的悬崖花园在地中海岸边诞生。
悬崖地形、园区布局与物种收藏
整座花园依山势而建，海拔自约 100 米处的观测者洞穴向上延伸至 200 多米高的台地，沿崖壁铺设的人行步道与多座人行天桥将不同区域连为一体。园方目前栽培超过 1,000 个物种、6,000 余个品种的肉质植物（succulent plants），主要原产地涵盖美国西南部、墨西哥、中南美洲（仙人掌科与龙舌兰属）以及南部非洲、东非、马达加斯加、阿拉伯半岛（其他多肉科属）。花园全境可俯瞰摩纳哥港与蒙特卡洛城区的地中海景致，被多本国际园林专著列为地中海地区最具代表性的多肉植物专类园之一。
观测者洞穴与史前人类遗址
在花园底部海拔约 100 米处开放参观的「观测者洞穴」，其名源于花园选址时山顶原有的小型天文观测台。洞穴由含碳酸气的地下水长期溶蚀石灰岩而成，内部形成钟乳石、石笋、帷幔、石柱与「意面状」细长沉积等丰富形态，全程约 300 级台阶、垂直高差近 60 米。洞穴内发现的史前人类活动遗迹（狩猎动物的骨骼化石）已被用于研究近 25 万年以来摩纳哥地区的气候变迁。花园自 1959 年起将原属摩纳哥王子的史前人类学博物馆（Musée d’Anthropologie Préhistorique，1901 年创立）整体迁入园区，使花园同时承担自然与史前考古双重展示功能。
植物学中心、保育计划与历任园主
花园的植物学中心（Centre Botanique）于 2017 年 10 月 31 日由阿尔贝二世亲王（Prince Albert II）揭幕迁入新址，新建筑由建筑师 Fabrice Notari 与法国著名建筑师 Rudy Ricciotti 共同设计。三层建筑共容纳 900 平方米温室与 1,000 平方米保护性棚屋，集中保存 10,500 株肉质植物（其中地栽 500 株、盆栽 10,000 株），约 85% 属于在野外受威胁的珍稀物种，由 7 名专业园丁组成的团队负责迁地保育、扩繁与展示。首任园主任为 Louis Vatrican（1933–1969），其继任者 Marcel Kroenlein 在任内多次赴美国、墨西哥、南美、非洲、马达加斯加与也门进行野外引种，亲手为园方增添逾 2,000 株新植物，使非洲多肉系列成为花园另一重要收藏脉络。
公众参观、协会支持与未来开放
摩纳哥异国情调花园由摩纳哥市政府（Mairie de Monaco）下属机构直接运营，全年向公众开放（每年 Formula 1 摩纳哥大奖赛期间、11 月 19 日与 12 月 25 日闭园），开放时间随季节调整为 9:00–17:00、9:00–18:00 或 9:00–19:00，成人门票 12 欧元，与洞穴或植物学中心联票 15 欧元、含三处 18 欧元；轮椅可达花园上层平台。支持花园的「摩纳哥异国情调花园之友协会」（Les Amis du Jardin Exotique de Monaco，简称 AJEM）每年出版两期《Cactus & Succulentes》期刊并以《AJEMinfos》简报形式发布最新动态，协会会员可免费入园并使用专业图书馆。花园因 2020 年新冠疫情闭馆进行大规模翻修，最新计划于 2026 年春季重新对公众开放。
Origins and a Century on the Riviera
The Jardin Exotique de Monaco was commissioned by Prince Albert I in 1913, built on a cliffside above the Mediterranean in the Monaco-Ville district, and formally inaugurated on 13 February 1933 by Prince Louis II, closing more than two decades of construction work. The idea grew out of a private succulent collection that Augustin Gastaud, Chief Gardener of the State Gardens of Monaco, began in 1895 at the Jardin St-Martin with plants brought back from Mexico; the exotic forms caught the eye of Prince Albert I and led to the creation of a public cliff garden devoted entirely to succulents. A natural grotto uncovered in 1916 during construction became the present-day Grotte de l’Observatoire, an underground cavity that has been open to guided tours since 1950.
Cliff-Side Setting and Living Collection
Carved into the rocky slopes of Les Moneghetti, the garden rises from roughly 100 metres above sea level at the grotto to a plateau that looks out over the Port of Monaco and the Monte Carlo skyline. More than 1,000 species and over 6,000 varieties of succulent plants are cultivated in the open air, drawn from the south-western United States, Mexico and Central and South America for cacti and agaves, and from southern, eastern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and Madagascar for the remaining succulent families. Footbridges and stepped paths follow the natural contours of the cliff, and a wheelchair-accessible route serves the upper terrace.
Grotte de l’Observatoire and Prehistory
At the base of the garden cliff, the Grotte de l’Observatoire extends from the 98-metre to the 40-metre contour through roughly 300 steps; the visit, limited to fifty people per group, is led by specialist guides. The limestone cavity, dissolved by carbonic-acid-charged water, is decorated with stalactites, stalagmites, draperies, columns and other speleothems whose evocative French names include ‘spaghettis’. Bone remains of animals eaten by prehistoric humans, recovered in and around the grotto, have been used to document climatic variation in the region over the past 250,000 years. The collections of the Musée d’Anthropologie Préhistorique, originally created by Prince Albert I in 1901 and moved to the garden in 1959, are exhibited on site as a complement to the cave tour.
Botanical Centre, Conservation and Garden Directors
The garden’s Botanical Centre reopened on 31 October 2017 in a new building designed by architects Fabrice Notari and Rudy Ricciotti, comprising 900 m² of glasshouses and 1,000 m² of shelter on three levels. The Centre holds 10,500 plants – 500 in open beds and 10,000 in pots – of which roughly 85% are rare or threatened in the wild, and is staffed by a team of seven specialist gardeners who carry out ex situ conservation, propagation and display work. Louis Vatrican served as the first director from 1933 to 1969; his successor Marcel Kroenlein introduced African succulents to a collection that had previously focused on American plants, leading numerous plant-hunting expeditions to the United States, Mexico, South America, Africa, Madagascar and Yemen and personally contributing more than 2,000 plants to the garden.
Public Visits, Friends Association and Reopening
Run as a public establishment of the Mairie de Monaco, the garden is open year-round (closed on the day of the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, on 19 November and on 25 December) with opening hours varying between 09:00–17:00, 09:00–18:00 and 09:00–19:00 by season. Admission in 2026 is set at €12 for adults for the garden alone, €15 combined with the cave or Botanical Centre and €18 for all three; reduced rates apply to students, seniors, children, groups and holders of French inclusion-mobility cards, and combined tickets are available with both the Oceanographic Museum and the Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology. The Friends of the Exotic Garden of Monaco (Les Amis du Jardin Exotique de Monaco, AJEM) publish the twice-yearly journal Cactus & Succulentes and the AJEMinfos bulletin, and grant members free access to the garden and its specialist library. After closing in 2020 for extensive renovation, the garden is scheduled to reopen to the public in spring 2026.
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