Jun 14

Jun 14 Les Jardins de Marqueyssac

Artfully trimmed boxwood hedges and topiary, panoramic views of the Dordogne, creepy taxidermy dioramas and showy peacocks. This place has it all!

This visit was on our “must do” list while in the area and it did not disappoint. We chose a nice sunny day and arrived just after the garden opened at 10am. The parking lot was already filling up with bus tours, school groups and families, so we scrambled up the hill ahead of the crowds and made our way to the most famous view in the park.

This is the classic view of the boxwood garden near the chateau. The boxwoods are trimmed by hand in the spring and late summer.

There are 150,000 boxwoods in the park. That’s a lot of trimming!

Mark met a very sweet peahen in the formal garden.

This guy came right up to us and put on his show. What’s the protocol for tipping French peacocks?

Front row seats at the Moulin Rouge!

Eventually, we left the peacocks behind and took the easy path to the Belvedere look out point.

There are 3 paths to choose from. This one goes around the edge of the park and offers views along the way.

You also get an up close look at the limestone rock formations typical of the area.

We made it! Here’s the view looking East over La Roque-Gageac. The flat-bottomed boat on the river is called a “gabarre.”

Looking West, you more boats on the river, walnut orchards and holiday homes.

On the way back to the chateau, the forest is dotted with follies like this one the shows the traditional dry-stone building technique of the area.

On the inside looking straight up, you can see the construction up close. This is just a small hut, but they have used this technique to roof huge chateaux and fortresses for centuries. The walls are several feet thick to withstand the weight of the roof.