Château des Ravalet, Tourlaville, France

Château des Ravalet is an outstanding Renaissance style castle, built between 1562 and 1575. Transformed into a farm during the 17th century, it was restored between 1859 and 1874 by Alexis de Tocqueville’s family, the author of on democracy in America. They created the park, with its ponds and its exotic greenhouse. The Cherbourg city acquired the castle in 1935. Today, the castle and its park are both listed as national heritage sites. The 14 hectares park is made of both an English and a French garden. The French garden is located in front of the magnificent 19th century greenhouse.

References:

Affordable Cruise Excursions

User Reviews

Anthony Asabre (4 years ago)
Lovely day to catch the castle, bright and sunny with no clouds in the sky.

Karim Ouafi (4 years ago)
It's very good ?

Sherif Mohamed (4 years ago)
Very nice and quite place to spend the day in..

Philippe RB (4 years ago)
Beautiful setting. Ideal place for family with children. Lots of nice picnic places and immaculate lawns to laze around. Absolutely fabulous glass house and ponds.

A K (6 years ago)
Absolutely stunning parc and gardens. Should not be missed if you're anywhere nearby. Entry is free, parking is free, no dogs allowed. There's a cafe and toilets on-site. There's a play area for children, lovely water features, lots of exotic plants with some information displayed. Gardens in different styles: English, French, Middle-ages. Places to just sit down, relax, read and contemplate in serenity. Not a lot of visitors on a weekday in July. The castle didn't seem accessible when we went. There was also a collection of interesting pictures from Cherbourg on display with legends in English and French.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Christian Lauw

Historic Site of the week

Wieskirche

The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.

The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.

The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.

Château des Ravalet

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Wieskirche