Issue No. 25

Art with a heart
Each year a unique Art & Garden festival
takes place in the hortillonnages – an
outdoor art gallery which spills into the
water and on islands and riverbanks. From
June to October some 50 artworks are
installed on the islands and in the water,
some of them monumental, all of them
extraordinary.
The only way to see them all is by electric
boat and you can take a self-guided tour.
Follow the circuit, all the islands featured in
the festival have pontoons where you can tie
up your boat and then wander freely.
There’s a firm emphasis on sustainability and
our relationship with nature at this festival: a
wall made from recycled drinks cans, a repurposed
phone box in which you can listen
to the sounds of insects and water plants.
This is one of the most unusual and beautiful
garden festivals I’ve ever been to.
Entry is not at the same place as the normal
guided boat tours. Instead make your way to
the Port à Fumier, Camon district where you
can to rent an electric boat for this fabulous
excursion. Expect to spend around two and a
half hours seeing all 50 artworks. There are
parking spaces available and a welcome desk.