The Best Time to Visit Château de Villandry
A month-by-month guide to the gardens, crowds and light at the Loire's greatest garden château.
No Loire château rewards timing quite like Villandry, because you are really coming to see a garden — and a garden looks different every month. The ornamental kitchen garden is replanted twice a year, the box hedges are clipped to their crispest in early summer, and the light that rakes across the patterns from the terrace is best in the morning and late afternoon. This guide walks through the year so you can pick the visit you actually want. The gardens are open every day except 25 December; the château interior closes for short periods in January/February and mid-to-late November, which is worth knowing if the interior matters to you.