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

Address

Rue du Château des Ravalets, Tourlaville, France

See all sites in Tourlaville

Details

Founded: 1562-1575
Category: Castles and fortifications in France

More Information

www.brittany-ferries.co.uk
www.affordablecruiseexcursions.com

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Holy Trinity Church (4,3 km)
Château de Martinvast (8 km)

Mont Orgueil (58 km)
Sainte-Mère-Église Church (30,5 km)
Utah Beach Museum (37 km)
Airborne Museum (30,6 km)
Carentan Church (43 km)
Vauban Tower (23,9 km)
Phare de Gatteville Lighthouse (22,9 km)
Manoir de Vauville (20,1 km)
Château de Bricquebec (18,4 km)

User Reviews

Anthony Asabre (3 years ago)
Lovely day to catch the castle, bright and sunny with no clouds in the sky.

Karim Ouafi (3 years ago)
It's very good ?

Sherif Mohamed (3 years ago)
Very nice and quite place to spend the day in..

Philippe RB (3 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 (5 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.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Mark1792

Historic Site of the week

Rosenborg Castle

Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.

The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.

Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.