The park is open daily except in winter, and an admission fee is charged. Visitors can see the animals roaming freely in a centuries-old botanical garden.[4]
History
From 1662 until 1988, the garden was a private estate, with a château built in 1848 by the family of Freslon Freslonnière. It was acquired in 1884 by Casimir Jourde, whose grandson Paul became a wildlife painter and world traveler. In the 1930s Paul and his wife, Hélène Castori, having discovered a game reserve maintained by Khengarji III, Maharao of Kutch, decided to create an "animal paradise" at Branféré by letting exotic animals from around the world acclimatize to the property and roam free, creating a park where animals and humans could interact. In 1965 the park opened to the public after thirty years of development, and in 1988 it was bequeathed to the Fondation de France.[1][5]