This spring, I visited the magnificent #ParcOriental of #Maulévrier in the Loire Valley for a conference and saw the site. Many #JapaneseGardens in the West claim to be the largest, but this probably *is* the biggest in Europe.

Alexandre Marcel laid out the initial Japanese garden for a prosperous local industrialist. M. became famous in 1900 for building the #TourDuMonde and the Cambodian pavilion at the #ExpositionUniverselle in #Paris. He even brought parts of the pavilion to Maulévrier!