The park covers about 70 hectares and has multiple owners. The forest and the meadows both cover half of the surface and the park is surrounded by walls. It has acquired its romantic shape under the leadership of its various owners, from the XVI to the XIX century and has been the summer residence of the family of the botanist Mark Antony Claret during the XVIII century.
Mark Antony Claret created the first botanical garden in Guillotière neighbourhood (Lyon) and used the park of La Tourette as a laboratory in which he grew new plants reaching France after the great expeditions and the royal policy changes. Claret de la Tourette was considered as one of the greatest botanists of the area among Jussieu, Commerson and Pepper.
The original spatial organization of La Tourette was profoundly affected by the construction of Le Corbusier convent. The design of the park is inspired by anglo-chinese gardens. Several landscape installations can be found within the park such as a theater of plants, a terrace, a cave, a cooler and an ancient Greek temple.
In the western Lyon, a lot of people come here to walk and wander through the trees and appreciate the great diversity of plant and animal species.
