Events and festivals in Pays de la Loire on October 10 and 11: in Le Mans, about fifteen owners open their private gardens while more than 140 exhibitors fill the streets of the Cité Plantagenêt.
A wristband, and the gates open. They belong to the private gardens of the Cité Plantagenêt, in Le Mans, open on 10–11 October 2026. Events and festivals in Pays de la Loire on October 10 and 11: in Le Mans, about fifteen owners open their private gardens while more than 140 exhibitors fill the streets of the Cité Plantagenêt.
The secret gardens of the Cité Plantagenêt
Entre Cours et Jardins, the Fête des Plantes et de l'Art au jardin, has returned every year since 2008. For two days, about fifteen owners let visitors into private courtyards and gardens that the street does not show.
Around the cathedral, lanes, staircases and squares host more than 140 exhibitors of plants, trees and flowers.
Local florists dress the old town around a theme that changes with each edition and shows off the architecture of the medieval district.
Walking through the Cité Plantagenêt is free. Entering the secret gardens takes a paid wristband, which also gives access to some activities in the programme. It is on sale at the Maison du Pilier Rouge, square Dubois, and at the tourist office, rue de l'Étoile. Two extra sales points open during the weekend, place Saint-Michel and promenade Saint-Hilaire.
The association Entre Cours et Jardins runs the event with the help of the city of Le Mans.
Dance, poetry, circus and concerts
In Nantes, MidiMinuitPoésie starts on 10 October. Since 2001, some thirty authors, musicians and visual artists have taken over halls, bookshops and stages across the metropolitan area for readings, reading-concerts and a poetry marathon from noon to midnight. The week runs until the 16th. The Lieu unique, Stereolux and Le Cinématographe have hosted its successive editions. In the same city, Les Avant Curieux end their edition, which began on the 7th, on Saturday 10 October: circus and street arts come back every two years.
Laval opens the fifteenth edition of the Festival J2K, devoted to hip-hop dance and urban cultures. Twenty performances, eleven companies, school sessions included, spread over five venues in three towns of the agglomeration. Tickets range from free to 9 euros, and four of the ten public events are free.
Saumur, one day only. Les Temps d'Art began in 2020 on the initiative of students from the University of Angers. The free trail mixes dance, circus, concerts and performances in the streets of the town centre, through the afternoon and evening, and ends with a big dance. Food on site starts at 7 pm.
In the Vendée, Quai Metal holds its second and last night in La Roche-sur-Yon on Saturday 10: an event born in 2023, with death, stoner, progressive and industrial metal split between the Delta hall and its 874 places and the Club and its 198. Doors open at 7 pm, and concerts run from 8 pm to 1 am. At La Boissière-de-Montaigu, Crétin Party lines up rock, punk and garage in the village hall, where the association Cretin Hop has run it since 2022: 10 euros at the door, bar and food on site.