THE PLANT GARDEN

Designed on the initiative of the Sarthe Horticultural Society, this garden, owned by the town since 1881, has been a listed site since 1945. The first sketches were created in 1870 by the chief engineer of the Promenades de Paris Jean-Charles Alphand, creator of the Buttes-Chaumont in Paris. Its five hectares are divided into two very distinct parts: the French garden with a rose garden and a terraced mall and the English landscaped garden. The latter are connected by a rocky subterranean passage known as the Ragot passage. A real space for floral cultivation, with its numerous flower beds and flowerbeds, the French garden is easily recognizable by its large straight paths and statues arranged in the centre of the lawn plots. A terrace planted with several rows of almost hundred-year-old lime trees overlooks the magnificent rose garden. On the other side of the Ragot Passage, the English Garden is a landscaped garden offering various walking routes, via winding paths that sometimes run alongside a river that flows peacefully before emptying into a lake where swans, ducks and water hens live together. Statues, sculptures and fountains line the paths, interspersed between oaks, elms, sequoias and other remarkable trees.

A 19th-century bandstand was added in 2004. During the summer months, free concerts are held there on Sunday afternoons. Children's games are installed near the ancient carousel which welcomes them during the school holidays and every Wednesday and Saturday afternoon.