Staying in France a little longer: The city of Lyon has two excellent museums located side-by-side on the Rue de la Charité in the Presqu’île area.
The Decorative Arts Museum is housed in the Hôtel de Lacroix Laval, built by Jacques Germain Soufflot in 1739.
Its windows overlook a small traditional parterre — or would, were they not covered by protective shades and gorgeous silk drapes.
The boxwood hedges are laid out in concentric triangles, punctuated by clipped balls. Ivy fills the centers, and acuba is planted at either end of the space.
Inside, the museum displays beautiful complete rooms of paneling, lighting, and furniture taken from 18th c. French residences, as well as ceramics and silver.
Next door, The Textile Museum exhibits clothing, tapestries, and carpets — from ancient Egypt and Asia to modern France.
I nearly had a religious experience in its gallery of silk Persian garden carpets hung against deep gray walls.
While I was in the garden, I also remembered the triangular patterns in the Rwandan Royal Palace garden in Nyanza.
enclos*ure 
silk Persian garden carpets … tell us more!
They were so lovely, but it was mainly the way they were hung rather high on the grey walls. Unfortunately, photography wasn’t allowed and the museum website doesn’t have a picture. Both museums are well worth a visit.
The close proximity of these two museums will definitely give visitors an easier time during their visit to Lyon on a historical expedition of French history. Aside from this, the items on display at these museums sound quite interesting. It would have been great if you had also taken some pictures of the items.
I can’t remember if I didn’t take photos inside because it wasn’t allowed at all or because I was afraid of being fussed at for using a flash (my camera’s light meter puts out a small red light that makes guards think it’s a flash). But you can see some images here:
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musée_des_Tissus_et_des_Arts_décoratifs
The above site includes a photo of the gallery with the carpets, although the walls are deeper grey in “real life.”