Guided visit of the Parc Boussard, an Art Deco garden of 1927 — Lardy

In the small town of Lardy in the Essonne, south of Paris, a garden of 1927 survives that was laid out on the principles of the 1925 Paris Exposition des Arts Décoratifs. On Sunday 20 September 2026, for the European Heritage Days, the town offers a free guided visit of the Parc Boussard with a specialist in the history of gardens.

The garden was commissioned by Henri Boussard, a wine merchant from one of the oldest families of Lardy, from the architect Joseph Marrast (1881–1971), who had organised the garden sections of the 1925 exhibition and would end his career as president of the Académie d’architecture. Marrast answered the sloping site with straight lines: terraces stepping down the hill, a central canal between paved walks, geometric basins, and a mix of brick, sandstone and exposed-aggregate concrete set against mosaics and clipped box. Where Art Nouveau curved, this garden zigzags and squares itself off. It has been listed as a monument historique since 1997, carries the Ministry of Culture’s Jardin remarquable label, and was completely restored in 2022.

The 43rd European Heritage Days take photography as their theme. Lardy adds two other openings the day before, on the Saturday: the town hall, for its fiftieth anniversary, and the tiers-lieu Jean Moulin at the Jean Moulin school. Outside these days the park is open free of charge every day, from 8am to 8pm in summer and to 6pm from November to March.

Practical details

• When: Sunday 20 September 2026, 11am
• Where: Parc Boussard, 43 rue de Verdun, 91510 Lardy, France, 500 metres from the Lardy RER station
• Admission: free, no booking required
• Organiser: Ville de Lardy; the guided visits run once a month from April to October, with the next ones on Sunday 4 and Sunday 18 October at 3pm

The town publishes the calendar of its guided visits on its own site. Cultural Heritage Online lists this event for readers around Paris that weekend.