Visit the Public Garden of Saint-Omer | Saint-Omer Tourist Office

A walk between old walls and greenery

You can’t visit Saint-Omer without taking a stroll through the public gardens. This green lung in the heart of the town was created on the site of former fortifications. It’s the perfect place to get away from it all and take a break from nature and heritage.

A garden created on the fortifications of Saint-Omer

Once past the entrance to the public garden, boulevard Pierre Guislain, the hubbub of the city is quickly forgotten.Do they know, by the way, these motorists, that they’re driving over Saint-Omer’s former city wall?

Born in 1893, the layout of the public garden follows that of the old fortifications, dismantled in 1892 to enlarge the town. Saint-Omer was a Flemish town under Spanish rule until 1677, when it was conquered by Louis XIV. The fortifications are a Spanish legacy from the 16th century.

Some green and some very green

Throughout the 20 hectares, this military past never ceases to resurface. Beneath your feet, on the Bastion du Château, casemates and firing ranges. Former advanced works have become green mounds. The walls are covered in green moss.

Between the city wall and the counterguard, the “Jardin à la Française” spreads out its mosaic beds and straight paths. It opens onto a “Jardin à l’Anglaise”, with its winding paths and romantic furnishings. Further on, the kiosk set on the bricks of the old fortification, no longer resonates with the concerts of the 8th Infantry Regiment, once given on Sundays. But people still come here to enjoy the warmth of the early summer days during the Fête de la Musique. A sports area has taken its place on a glacis, a waterfall rests on an ancient fort and the moat today forms a very peaceful watering place.

A walk between old walls and greenery

You can’t visit Saint-Omer without taking a stroll through the public gardens. This green lung in the heart of the town was created on former fortifications. It’s the perfect place to get away from it all and enjoy an escape between nature and heritage.

Claire Decraene

Charming waterfalls

At last, the area around the waterfall concentrates all the poetry of the public garden. Leaning against the Fort des Croates, it is surrounded by Turqueries, an animal park and small rock bridges over a river. The perfect place to have fun with the family, stop for a picnic, or just stroll and take time to dream.

Remarkable trees

Classified since 1932, the public garden is a journey. Here, every tree has a story. There are around thirty of them, known as “Remarquables”, and they have often inspired the great families of Audomar to create their own gardens. Centenarians, they unfurl extraordinary branches.

The 1894 Purple Beech becomes a glowing flame every spring. Ginkgo Biloba takes us to Asia. This holly is surely the oldest in France. An 1896 hornbeam, a Vernis du Japon as if out of a print, a Polonia Impérialis, symbol of the Empress of Japan, or this Sequoia, known as the “boxer’s tree” because of its supple bark. At 50 meters tall, it can rival the cathedral tower.