Last updated on 16 July 10
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Chateau de Villandry

4.8/5 (10 ratings)

Photograph © Alan Graham
Photograph © Alan Graham
Photograph © Maitland

Gardenvisit Editorial

An imaginative twentieth century re-creation of a renaissance castle garden. The moated Chateau dates from c1536 and had a formal garden in the eighteenth century. The present garden dates from the years after 1906 when it was bought by a Spaniard, Dr Joachim Carvallo. Inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, he wished the garden to have a sixteenth century character. Great horticultural skill was deployed, especially in the use of vegetables. An arbour of grape vines leads to a great parterre, conceived as a Garden of Music. On the other side of the canal is a Garden of Love. Symbolising the moods of love, it looks rectangular from the chateau but is actually trapezoid. The aesthetically designed vegetable garden is based on an illustration from Du Cerceau's Les plus excellents bastiments de France (1576). Despite its origins, Villandry is the work of a twentieth century imagination.

Address - Centre, Villandry, France, 37510
Opening times - Garden open all year daily from 9am.
Admission - Adult Chateau & Garden 9€, Garden only 6€
Website - Visit the Chateau de Villandry website

Local Hotels

Hotels within 30km as the crow flies from this garden.

Logis Le Cheval Rouge (0km away)
From €58.00 to €82.00
Domaine De Beauvois (6km away)
From €133.00 to €372.00
Lagrange Prestige Les Jardins Renaissance (8km away)
From €27.86 to €195.00
Hôtel des Chateaux (8km away)
From €61.00 to €82.00
Campanile Tours Sud ~ Joué-Les-Tours (8km away)
From €59.00 to €73.00
Hôtel Chantepie (8km away)
From €50.00 to €89.00
Logis Ariane (8km away)
From €67.00 to €89.00
Mercure Tours Sud (8km away)
From €70.00 to €180.00

Nearby Gardens

Gardens within 30km as the crow flies from this garden.

Chateau de Langeais (6km away)
(2.0/5)
Jardins d'Ussé (17km away)
Château de Valmer (26km away)
(5.0/5)
Château du Rivau Garden (28km away)
(5.0/5)

Luxury Garden Hotels

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Chateau de Noizay

Recent Reviews

14 days ago be-am said
Simply magnificent! I love the interplay of geometric order, colourful beds and the variable shapes of vegetable in the kitchen garden combined with a grandious layout on the hill slope. My favourites: the reveries in blue in clouds chamber and the music garden. 4 stars in Racines guide, 5 here!

(5.0/5)
5 months ago Anonymous said
this castle is awsome it has beatuiful gardens i ever seen. I just look at these gardens and the trip is endless

(5.0/5)
about 1 year ago Lee Dempsey said
I went round the gardens last week and stayed three hours, having allowed two. I thought they were truly unique of all the gardens I have been to in the UK, Spain, and Italy. Also visited the lesser known and more compact http://www.lachatonniere.com/ and stayed at nearby Langeais where there is a superb medieval chateau. Our host (Shaun at www.langeais.co.uk) was most helpful.

(5.0/5)
over 1 year ago Julia Srigley said
This has been a long awaited visit, a dream come true, to actually visit this garden and marvel in the craftsmanship that firstly cinstructed the garden and now the horticultural expertise that keeps this magical place in such pristine condition is a pure joy. No amount of reading, looking at images can prepare you for the spectacle. It took my breath away, I really do hope that I can come back again one day.

(5.0/5)
about 2 years ago Anonymous said
Also Michellin *** and indeed, 'worthy of a detour'. New gardens are still being planted and the established parts continue to ravish the senses.

(5.0/5)

See all the reviews of Chateau de Villandry