Maurice Dufresne Museum, Azay-le-Rideau

The Maurice Dufresne Museum occupies a restored former paper mill on the banks of the Indre river, set within a 67,000 m² park of century-old trees near Azay-le-Rideau. Founded by blacksmith and scrap metal dealer Maurice Dufresne, the museum opened in 1992 after decades of rescuing mechanical objects destined for destruction. The collection spans over 3,000 pieces from 1850 to 1950, spread across 10,000 m² of exhibition space.