Tropical Greenhouse of La Ferme aux crocodiles

La Ferme aux crocodiles was founded by two local horticulturists, Luc and Éric Fougeirol, and opened in July 1994 in Pierrelatte, in the Drôme. The greenhouse, which forms the heart of the establishment, then measured 6,500 m². It was later enlarged: Wikipedia gives an area of about 8,000 m² in 2006, to which an outdoor space of 4,000 m² is added, around 1.2 hectares in all.

The establishment was sold in 2007 to the Montparnasse 56 group. The veterinarian Samuel Martin has been its technical director since the beginning. According to Wikipedia, attendance reaches about 300,000 visitors a year, making it the leading tourist attraction in the Drôme. The official website presents it as Europe's leading reptile park, a claim not independently verified here.

The sources consulted name no architect or builder for the greenhouse.

The official website describes an immense greenhouse built on wooden walkways, along which visitors move amid the vegetation. Its area was 6,500 m² at opening and about 8,000 m² in 2006. An outdoor space of 4,000 m² extends it, for a total footprint of about 1.2 hectares.

The heating is the building's most distinctive feature: the greenhouse is heated with hot water from the cooling circuit of the compressors of the Eurodif enrichment plant, which stands on the nearby Tricastin nuclear site. This recovery of industrial heat keeps tropical temperatures and high humidity going all year; the official website advises visitors to wear light clothing because it is very hot inside.

The establishment holds about 600 animals according to Wikipedia and 1,200 according to the official website; the two counts could not be reconciled. Crocodilians, represented by twelve species, are the main group, alongside tortoises, monitor lizards, iguanas, pythons, birds and fish including piranhas. The official site also mentions 150 birds in free flight, among them macaws, flamingos and ibises.

The vegetation is described as lush and typical of the jungle: palms, tropical plants and aquatic plants are mentioned. The botanical collection is not itemised species by species in the sources consulted; the greenhouse's interest lies chiefly in its recreated tropical atmosphere and its animals.

La Ferme aux crocodiles stands in Pierrelatte, in the south of the Drôme, on allée de Beauplan. The route follows wooden walkways through the greenhouse, which is very hot and humid in every season, making it a welcome visit when the weather outside is cold or wet. About two to three hours is a reasonable allowance for the greenhouse and the outdoor areas. OpenStreetMap records the site as wheelchair accessible. The place is closer to an animal park than to a botanical garden, and will appeal above all to visitors drawn to large-scale tropical greenhouses.