From late April to early November the château grounds host the Festival International des Jardins, an annual show of contemporary garden design. Around 30 small plots are laid out in a wooded park beyond the stables, each by a different designer responding to a yearly theme. The result is closer to an art biennale than a flower show — installations that play with light, water, sound, edible plants, recycled materials.
It is worth a couple of hours of slow walking. The gardens evolve through the season, so a visit in May feels different from one in October. Tickets cover the festival, the wider park, and the château itself; an evening session with lights and music runs on summer weekends.