chateau de villandry

A wonderful visit today in early March and we managed to score a superb day which reached nearly 19oC!! Was wonderful to wander in the gardens which had very few visitors so no awful crowds to try to blank out. Although the majority of the gardens beds were dormant and empty the lovely hedging and structures still made this a worthwhile visit. We gazed over them in tranquility imagining how alive they would be full of colour. It was still wonderful to see the empty trees with their naked branches showing the intricate pruning that must be done (apparently it takes four gardeners three months each winter to prune all of the trees!). It's worth the few extra € to make a quick skip through the château first and make sure you climb to the top of the keep to see the spectacular views over the gardens and valley.

This chateau has the most beautiful gardens in FRANCE.Make a quick visite in the castle,then go in the gardens,the gardens use to be a meeting place between the ladies and the chevaliers and the monks were the links between them,by taking the letters from one part fo the other part,transporting the letters in their sleeves.

We were there late November and even if it was late in the season , we found the gardens to be be amongst the most beautiful we have seen in the world ! We first visited the ''Château'' with the audio guides ( we strongly recommend them ) and found the visit quite informative and interesting ! Then we went on our own to wander around the superb gardens for more than 11/2 hours and we appreciated every minute of the visit ! We have visited 15 Châteaux during our tour of the Châteaux de la Loire anf we rank Villandry in the top 3 because of its gardens !

Go there in summer when flowers are at the best. Just take your time...and look around...with family or friends this is fine and do not forget to test the wine from the region and visit caves around

This is a spectacular place to admire these beautiful gardens, and you can see an incredible vegetable garden !!! Was a pleasure to be there.

Truly beautiful gardens, a delight to wander around. The chateau itself is also lovely with some beautiful decor, particularly the oriental drawing room. Well worth a visit.

The Chateau de Villandry is located on the banks of the Cher River in the small town of Villandry, France. It is also located about 10 miles west of Tours, France (and is an easy drive from Tours). The Chateau was built in 1536 on the site of an old medieval castle (the original keep is still there). In 1906 the Chateau was purchased by Joachim Carvallo and he created the 16th century gardens. The Chateau is still owned by the Carvallo family and they actually still live here. The price was very reasonable at 8 Euros for entry into both the Chateau and the gardens. You can pay 4.50 Euros just for the gardens but you may as well see the Chateau since you will already be there. The audio guide is only 4 Euro’s. Also, the views of the garden from the top of the Chateau are fantastic.I went with my wife on a Friday morning in late October and really enjoyed touring the Chateau and the gardens. We arrived right after it opened up and it was not very busy (I noticed it was much more crowded as we were leaving). The Chateau is nice but the main attractions are the gardens behind the Chateau. The best part of the interior was climbing up the old Keep and enjoying the views of the gardens and the old town. On the first floor of the Keep is Joachim Carvallo’s study and work area. This room was also used in the 12th century by the King of England and the King of France to sign a treaty. The kid’s rooms with all the old antique toys were also interesting.We watched a 20 minute video of the estate before we toured it. I recommend that you watch it as it is makes it easier to go through all the rooms afterwards. We did not need to use the audio guide after the video. We had to ask someone to start it for us as there is no set viewing schedule.Overall I really enjoyed visiting the Chateau and the unbelievable gardens and highly recommend them. This is a must see Chateau if you are touring the Loire Valley. There are seven unique and different gardens that are all interesting and worth your time.

Once you go to visit Loira's castle, this one hasn't anything special, but its wonderful gardens. Very varied plants and flowers, and lots of hiden sites where you can get lost listening to the water pouring down the ponds or enjoying the different nice smellings of the flowers ands trees or just stay in the shadow of a tree.

Didn't go into the chateau. Extensive and impressive gardens to take your breath away. Particularly liked the formal vegetable gardens near the chateau. So many types of gardens to wander and admire.

The gardens in this chateau are amazing. The chateau itself if beautiful inside is not as impressive as outside. Go for the gardens. We happened to be there for "Night of a Thousand Fireworks" in July, where the grounds are lit with candles. You go in the evening (though it doesn't get dark at that time of year until nearly 11pm) and all throughout the garden are candles atop the landscaping. Not sure if you can see that in the picture. After walking around, once it gets dark, there are some medieval musicians who played on a raft in the middle of the lake, some characters in I guess 18th century costumes, and fireworks. It was a lot of fun.

We decided to visit only gardens as we have seen so many castles on our trip. Gardens are really lovely. Well designed and looked after. You won't be dissapointed at all. On a nice sunny day you can spent a few hours here.

The Chateau was a wonderful piece of history. The winding stairs to the room were uneven so be careful as you ascend and descend. You don't want to turn an ankle. The Gardens were excellent, well laid out, and well described as to where and why they were laid out, crop rotation as well as why certain crops were not planted near other crops. Beautiful flowers. Like most of the Historic Chateaux and buildings in Europe, much of the building was under repair. This place is over 500 years old. Like many of the Chateau owners these places are too expensive to maintain out of their own pockets and thus are now open to the public and tourism fees help pay for the upkeep. Otherwise these places would collapse and be lost to the history. So I recommend going to visit this Chateau, enjoy the architecture inside and out as if is very interesting. Enjoy the grounds and gardens as they are spectacular. The adjacent restaurant is pretty decent.

Well we decided to tour the chateau and the gardens even though everything I read said to skip the chateau. We were not impressed with the chateau and ended up leaving to go explore the gardens. At every turn you view something unique and beautiful. They are well worth the visit.

If you are a garden enthusiast then you MUST go to Villandry. Wear comfortable shoes and prepare for a bit of a hike, do not forget your camera (or sketch pad) and make sure to have a minimum of two hours to visit. The chateau itself is wonderful because it is one of the few castles in the Loire which is owner occupied, on the current owners are ancestors of the couple who restore the Villandry gardens to their original regal french garden plan. There is obvious personal pride and care in every detail. Although the chateau itself is interesting, there are better examples of such castles elsewhere, but it's worth a walk through to get an understanding of daily life there. The most important part of you visit inside the castle is really the views of the gardens from various rooms and then the wonderful view from the keep tower as it opens up over the stunning gardens for a bird eye view.The gardens are truly magnifique! Hardly anyone went on a hike in the 'woods' which is a part of the gardens on the far left. But that is a mistake. It's worth a climb up to the woods level and a hike through the trees. It's like a fairy tale 'woods', a film set for little red riding hood. A perfect romantic setting for a picnic. Each of the 7 different gardens offers unique concepts for garden design and layout. Our kids never exhausted of it. Luckily there are a couple of Crepe carts just outside the front gates that refueled our children happily so that they could run free in the garden of childhood dreams.

A must see, a jewel of the Loire valley. The gardens (I think 6-7 in all) will make to want to hang around for atleast 3-4 hrs. Even the bois (woods) are so peaceful - with a perfect view of the gardens (benches laid out at strategic points to take in the views).