As a child, I went several times to Chaumont-sur-Loire’s International Garden Festival with my brother and my parents. During Summer, it was a nice day trip (2 hours from my place), with a lot of gardens and usually water to play with. Then, as a teenager, I did a road-trip with two friends to visit a few castles in the Loire valley, and we stopped in Chaumont-sur-Loire. Yesterday, for my uncle’s birthday, we went back there.
The Garden Festival of Chaumont-sur-Loire
Every year, there’s a theme (even though you can be sure that there will be gardens and water, it’s Summer after all), and this year, it was Gardens of Paradise. That means all the gardens must be somehow related to that theme.
In front of each garden, a sign indicates the garden number (on the map), its title and what it’s about. Sometimes, it’s interesting to learn about the idea behind the garden and its designer’s intentions, but sometimes, it’s quite boring and a bit too much. Especially if the text is dreamy and complicated, but the garden is dry, hot and not that impressive. Some of them are stunning (this year, we particularly liked the Magpie’s Paradise, Float Flutter Flow, and the Élixir floral), while others try too hard (in my opinion).
A Fairytale Scenery
You can very well spend the whole day in Chaumont-sur-Loire, or even more. Beyond the gardens, there’s a park, where you can find hidden sculptures and artworks. To complete this wonderful context, there’s also a castle, that seems to have come right out of a fairytale! We did not have time for the park and the castle, but maybe next time!
To see more photos of France, you can visit the gallery France.
