Immerse yourself in surroundings that evoke a more genteel era and watch treasures from the archives in the glass orangerie (modelled on Crystal Palace), silent films accompanied by live orchestration in the neo-classical drawing room or take part in a foley workshop (recording sound effects) in the crumbling stable block.

BBC: Ireland's most offbeat festivals

More than a decade ago, VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech, grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, commissioned a vanity project to rival the pyramids: to resurrect the great French luxury and racing marque Bugatti, right down to Ettore Bugatti's l'orangerie in Molsheim, in Alsace, France, and build there the greatest sports car of all time, with no compromise.

WSJ: Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse at 210 MPH, for a Long, Long Time | Rumble Seat by Dan Neil