Held at the beautiful Chateau Chaumont-sur-Loire, and celebrating twenty years, the International Garden Festival is a dazzling display of cutting edge landscape and gardening design. This year’s 30 individual creations bloom around the theme: “Gardens of delight, gardens of delirium.”
Part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site encompassing the heart of the Loire Valley, the chateau was built as a fortress in the 10th century. Five hundred years later, Catherine de Medici bought it, then sold it to Diane de Poitiers when King Henry II died. Among its hundreds of illustrious guests was Benjamin Franklin, who visited after the American Revolution. Since 2007, the Chateau has officially belonged to the Centre Region of France. It is a true highlight of a Loire Valley visit.
Part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site encompassing the heart of the Loire Valley, the chateau was built as a fortress in the 10th century. Five hundred years later, Catherine de Medici bought it, then sold it to Diane de Poitiers when King Henry II died. Among its hundreds of illustrious guests was Benjamin Franklin, who visited after the American Revolution. Since 2007, the Chateau has officially belonged to the Centre Region of France. It is a true highlight of a Loire Valley visit.
The International Garden festival runs from April 25 – October 21, 2012
Travel Tip:
Festival Nighttime Events: July 1 through August 31:
• Saturdays through Thursdays, from 10 p.m. until midnight, the gardens will be dreamily illuminated by light-emitting diodes
• Every Friday night, from 10 p.m. until midnight: Magical Nights, when 2,500 candles light up the chateau and solar-powered “fireflies” twinkle in the surrounding trees
