Villandry is a small village in the Loire Valley whose château is one of the finest examples of Renaissance garden design in France. Built in the sixteenth century on the site of an earlier fortified tower, the château itself is handsome enough, but it is the gardens that draw visitors from across Europe. Terraced into three levels descending toward the Cher river, they combine ornamental flower beds, a water garden, and — most strikingly — a vast ornamental kitchen garden where vegetables, herbs, and flowers are planted in geometric patterns so precise they look more like embroidery than agriculture.
The gardens fell into disrepair over the centuries and were restored in the early twentieth century by Joachim Carvallo, a Spanish physician who bought the estate and spent his life recreating what the Renaissance gardens might have looked like. His descendants still own and manage the property today, which gives it a personal quality unusual among Loire châteaux.
Villandry sits just 15 kilometres west of Tours, making it an easy half-day excursion by car or bicycle. The village itself is tiny, with little beyond the château, but the surrounding countryside — flat, lush, and threaded with cycling paths — rewards a leisurely approach. Nearby Ussé is another worthwhile stop on the same road.