France Trip - Villandry

Château de Villandry is famous for its extensive gardens… considered to be the best in the Loire Valley and possibly all of France. They were absolutely perfect. It was so fun - especially to view the gardens from high up on the Belvedere lookout.

We didn’t go inside the castle but enjoyed walking through the four garden types… ‘the 10-acre Renaissance garden, inspired by the 1530s Italian-style original, is full of symbolism. Even the herb and vegetable sections are arranged with artistic flair. The earliest Loire gardens were practical, grown by medieval abbey monks who needed vegetables to feed their community and medicinal herbs to cure their ailments. Those monks liked geometrical patterns. Later Italian influence brought decorative ponds, tunnels and fountains. Harmonizing the flowers and vegetables was an innovation of the 16th centruy Loire châteaux.’ — Rick Steves

On our way back home Chris slowed to a stop on the bridge so I could take a picture of Amboise from a distance.