The publicist for Chateau de Beauvois and Chateau De Prieuré was kind enough to have the local tourist board of Loire area near Tours to arrange guided visits to Villandry and Chateau Langeais, two important chateaus.
Chateau Villandry was one of the last great Renaissance castles, built for Jean Le Breton, the finance minister under King Francois I, in 1532. Walking through the impressive rooms of the chateau with handsome 18th-century furniture, tapestries, chintz fabric walls and bed awnings, and parquet floors, I couldn’t help being distracted by the view of formal gardens below every time I looked out a window. Impatient to see the wonderful symmetry and gorgeously sculpted hedges and trees up close, the inside visit was a pleasant but perfunctory mission before the big event.
There are six gardens at Villandry, including The Vegetable Garden, The Water Garden, The Herb Garden, The Maze, and The Sun Garden. There’s also a lawn tennis court resembling Wimbledon. The principal gardener appointed in 2009, Laurent Portuguez has a singular mission to convert the gardens to become fully organic. So far he has implemented measures such as stopping pesticides, using natural fungicides, organic fertilization, and weeding to fulfill his mission.
Strolling through the gardens, I was totally enamored with the artistry, the colors, the perfume of the flowers and plants, the order, the vegetable patches brimming with ripe, summer vegetables, and the splendor of this mass of visual perfection.
It was a warm, humid day and in The Water Garden we cooled off by the mist of the fountain. In a more intimate and hidden garden, we appreciated the contemporary sculptures by artist Marina de Soos.
In July and August, Villandry hosts Nights of a Thousand Lights, an evening where the chateau and gardens are illuminated by the flames of two thousand candles. For creepy fun, Villandry hosts Bat Night on August 25th, where guests can discover the fascinating animals up close.
After Villandry, we visited the idyllic village of Langeais, a tiny hamlet of gardens, ancient homes, and Chateau de Langeais. The chateau was constructed in 1465 by order of King Louis I to secure his foothold in the Loire. A major historic event took place in the chateau in 1491, with the secret marriage of Anne of Brittany to Charles VIII, which secured her position in the French Kingdom.
The chateau is more rustic since it was built in medieval times and the rooms were filled wood paneling, tile floors, thick velvet draped canopy beds, stone fireplaces and beautifully executed tapestries hanging on the walls.
Outside are formal gardens that lead up to a mound that preserves the original fortress from 1,000 AD. Behind the fortress is an authentic replica of a scaffold and lifting machines from the year 1,000. There’s a cedar and sequoia tree-lined path that leads to a panoramic view of the Loire.
After the chateau, we walked around the peaceful village and admired the bouquets of flowers cascading over the bridges, the weeping willows in full bloom, and the half-timber houses.
I would like to thank Marieke Gourdin for escorting and arranging the visits to the chateaus that day.
I would also like to extend my thanks to Guillaumette Mourain at Villandry for the personal tour of the chateau.
Chateau Villandry
https://www.chateauvillandry.fr/en/
Chateau De Langeais
http://chateau-de-langeais.com/en/
https://www.touraineloirevalley.com
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