Video: Château de Villandry and its Magnificent Gardens

Château de Villandry has an understated classical elegance, but it is the gardens, not the building, for which Villandry is most famous. The restored 16th century gardens are on three levels. A water garden is on top, fringed by ancient lime trees. A flower garden is level with the château. In the Garden of Love, flower designs symbolize four types of love — tragic, adulterous, tender, and passionate.

The lowest level is the world’s largest ornamental kitchen garden. Eight gardeners work full-time planting 60,000 vegetables and 45,000 bedding plants each year.

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