Discover the park

Secret Gardens...

The Garden
This grassy area, embellished with sculpted boxwood and floral borders offers an unobstructed view of the park and its landscaping.

The Aquatic Gardens
In the shade of tall native American trees, hiba and lilies as well as bald cypresses and irises share their reflections in four successive ponds.

Lafayette’s Oak Tree
Under its imposing canopy, this three century old European oak, planted by Lafayette’s grandfather, offers you its protection all year long ...

The Moon Tree
Take a trip to outer space while admiring this Norway maple, born from a seed that was carried into space by Stuart Roosa, aboard Apollo 14 in 1971.

The Azalea Bushes
What’s more exhilarating than walking amongst the colored azaleas and rhododendrons whose heady fragrance pleasantly perfumes this part of the park?

The Arboretum
Travel the world by discovering a score of species whose colors and shapes demonstrate the diversity of the kingdom of plant.

The Rose Garden and Secret Garden
Behind the Rose Garden, flanked by two saucer magnolias, is John Moffat’s tomb. He was responsible for the embellishment of the park during the 20th century.

Lafayette in America, 1824-1825

During his exciting and eventful life, General Lafayette was repeatedly invited by the American people for whom he had devoted himself to in the past. In 1824, at the age of 77, he was invited by James Monroe, the President of the United States at the time,. He journeyed across America in the footsteps of his past, hoping to find some friends and appreciate the evolutions in the country’s politics, business and industry. During his trip, Lafayette visited nearly 200 cities in 20 eastern states. Through a botanical and historical discovery trail retracing parts of his journey, each species reminds visitors of the crossing of a U.S. state and the tribute that he received at that occasion.

Reflections of Two Worlds

The Franco-American ties woven by Lafayette have their symbolic continuity in the castle grounds’ woody flora. Many species from the Eurasian continent have retained within their genetic patrimony a relationship with the American species despite the two continents’ separation. It is therefore on this relationship between the old and new world that this botanical trail was imagined including a tribute to the work of two of the greatest naturalists in scientific history, from the time of Lafayette (1757-1834): Carl von Linné (1707-1778), founder of modern taxonomy, and Charles Darwin (1809-1882), father of the theories of evolution and natural selection.