Outstanding gardens
– Destination –
The garden of France
The image of the Loire Valley is undoubtedly associated to the chateaux, but also to the gardens. The region is thus, and quite rightly, often described as the garden of France. The tradition of gardens in the Loire Valley is almost as old as that of chateaux since it dates back to the Renaissance, in the 16th century.
As a period of peace takes hold in the kingdom and the armor falls, the castles are transformed. Their defensive installations disappear and the castles allowed themselves openings on the natural spaces which surrounded them. This is the birth of pleasure gardens.
The Loire Valley offers us today a multitude of gardens, many of which are accessible to visitors all year round or in season.
French-style, English-style, vegetable garden or bouquetier, the gardens of the Loire Valley assert their personality with pride and audacity and tell us their story through the centuries. Mixtures of tradition and modernity, they will satisfy all visitors, in search of inspiration or contemplation, who like to explore them according to the seasons.
The gardens to discover in Azay-le-Rideau: the park of the castle of Azay-le-Rideau, the park of the castle of Islette.
Those to discover in the surroundings: the gardens of the Château de Villandry, the gardens of the Prieuré St-Cosme, the gardens of the Château du Rivau.
