In 1985, William Christie—harpsichordist, conductor, and founder of the renowned Baroque period ensemble Les Arts Florissants—put down stakes in Thiré, acquiring a plot of unimproved former farmland as the blank page on which to create the garden of his dreams. Four decades on, the property unfolds before a visitor’s eyes like Jean Cocteau’s fantasies for La Belle et la Bête. Though a creation of our time, the spread is listed on the French Inventory of Historic Monuments. “It is an artist’s garden,” says Christie, who hails from Buffalo, New York, and as a Grand Cross of the Ordre National du Mérite is entitled to consider the precious Légion d’Honneur as one of his lesser French distinctions. “Whimsical, full of poetic license; it represents all the dreams I’ve had since I was 12. When I think of this garden, I think of the music I love.” His Festival dans les Jardins de William Christie marries the horticultural and the acoustic. Don’t be surprised to see the hospitable châtelain nipping and tucking with his sécateurs. As perhaps you’d expect, he’s very hands-on. That said, his private paradise is a long hike from just about everywhere. Book any overnights way ahead, and don’t count on public transportation. —Matthew Gurewitsch