Chateau de Villandry

"Try to visit when the gardens are blooming, between April and October; midsummer is most spectacular." Full review

"Laid out over four terraces, Villandry's gardens are the epitome of Renaissance architectural convention." Full review

"Built at the end of the Renaissance, the Château de Villandry has retained the keep of an earlier fortress." Full review

"This imposing country pad was the last major Loire chateau built during the Renaissance, when Jean Breton – one of King Francis I’s ministers – transformed a feudal fortress by bringing in a swathe of Italian and French architectural elements: decorated pilasters, the steep sloping roofs and a gallery with arcades"