Weekend in Lyons-la-Forêt and Bois Guilbert

Weekend in Lyons-la-Forêt and Bois Guilbert

This route invites you to enjoy a peaceful weekend in the heart of nature, between Lyons-la-Forêt and Bois-Guilbert. Take the time to stroll through these iconic Normandy locations and let yourself be carried away by the offerings of the Normandy Impressionist Festival.


Head to Lyons-la-Forêt to discover the contemporary art trail " Les Jardins en dialogues" (Gardens in Dialogue), installed in the picturesque streets of the village. This project offers a fresh perspective on the site through the works of Tanja Smeets, Florian Mermin, and Rasmus Myrup.

By transforming the walk into a sensory experience, these installations weave a dialogue between architectural heritage and the living world, and invite a stroll that is at once poetic, surprising and immersive.

© Tanja Smeets, Unbridled Wall, Maubuisson Abbey, Saint-Ouen-L'Aumône, France, 2024 © Catherine Brossais

Enjoy the Bordins forest garden and several hikes starting from Lyons.

On September 6, you can attend the video-concert Jardins féériques by Paul Rousteau and the Opéra Orchestre Normandie Rouen in the Saint-Denis church of Lyons-la-Forêt. 


Head to Bois-Guilbert, a remarkable village that is home to the Sculpture Garden and its castle. By combining art and nature, this place offers a unique walk, where the artworks blend into the landscape and reveal its full poetry.

© © The Sculpture Garden, Cloister of the Four Seasons by Jean-Marc de Pas

On site, as part of the Normandy Impressionist Festival, you can discover three exhibitions: 

A Garden of Impressionist Painters in Bois-Guilbert (a series of 20 bronze busts of emblematic painters of the Impressionist era),

The Impressionist Gardens of the Rouen School (a unique exhibition of paintings by emblematic painters of this school),

The Uniqueness of Colour (an exhibition of works by Caroline Coppey, an artist who wrote a thesis on Claude Monet).