Jardin du Roi Spice Garden

The Jardin du Roi occupies a hillside above Anse Royale where the French established a spice plantation in the 1770s, in an attempt to break the Dutch monopoly by growing nutmeg, clove and cinnamon in the Indian Ocean. The original garden was burned by its own keeper in 1780 to keep it from the British. The present garden is a working plantation with a marked walk through the spices, a small museum and a restaurant with a view down to the coast.

What you actually see

• The spice walk - the marked route through nutmeg, clove, cinnamon and vanilla.
• The 1770s history - the French attempt to break the Dutch spice monopoly.
• The 1780 burning - the garden destroyed by its keeper to deny it to the British.
• The hillside view - the outlook down over Anse Royale and the coast.

When to go

Year round; mornings are cooler for the walk. The restaurant runs at lunch. Rain makes the paths slippery.

Honest expectations

The paths are steep and slippery when wet. The museum is small and dated. The access road up from the coast is narrow and steep.

Nearby

Anse Royale is below, and the Tea Factory is northwest.