The gardens of Villandry were redesigned by Joachim Carvallo at the beginning of the 20th century. They combine medieval, Renaissance, French and contemporary garden styles. The Château de Villandry also defines the town: it was completed around 1536 and is considered the last of the great Renaissance castles built on the banks of the Loire.
Anyone wishing to rent a holiday apartment in Villandry combines their search with the Château de Villandry and its gardens.
Culture and History
The gardens of Villandry consist of seven named garden areas: the ornamental vegetable garden, the Garden of Love and Crosses, the music garden, the medicinal plant garden, the maze, the sun garden and the water garden.
The château was originally a medieval fortress. Jean Breton acquired it in 1532 and subsequently modernised it through major building works based on the new architectural techniques of the Renaissance. The menhir Pierre aux Géants, also known as Pierre aux Joncs, is another part of the area's older history. It bears witness to human settlement in Villandry since the Neolithic period, around 3500 BC.
The Romanesque Church of Saint-Étienne in Villandry dates from the 11th and 12th centuries and has a gallery organ donated at the end of the 19th century. The church features construction phases from the beginning of the 11th century, the last quarter of the 12th century and the middle of the 16th century.
Routes
La Loire à Vélo runs about 500 metres from the entrance to the Château de Villandry. Bus line 32 serves the “Villandry Centre” stop, from which it is about a 280-metre walk to the entrance of the Château de Villandry. The Château's Accueil Vélo services include an unguarded bicycle parking area at the entrance and luggage storage within the grounds.
La Loire à Vélo also includes the 21-kilometre Villandry–Rigny-Ussé stage, which runs mainly along roads shared with other traffic.
Starting in Villandry, the Sentier découverte de Villandry is an easy, 11.2-kilometre hiking trail that follows flood protection embankments along the Cher.
River Landscape
The Sentier découverte de Villandry can be extended to the confluence of the Loire and Cher, the Bec du Cher. There is a viewpoint there that is suitable for a picnic break.
At the confluence of the Cher and Loire, Les Attelages de Villandry offer carriage rides for individuals, groups and people with reduced mobility. The carriage rides operated by Les Attelages de Villandry start at the Les Petites Rivières equestrian centre in Villandry.
