Just 15 minutes from Cherbourg is the elegant Château des Ravalet, a wonderful example of Renaissance architecture. The château has a tumultuous past as the home of the incestuous Julien and Marguerite de Raval who were beheaded by the King in 1603, it was sold on to Charles de Franquetot after serious financial problems in the family, who was murdered by his valet, and acted as a war hospital during WW1 and a German army base in WW2.
Enjoy a peaceful walk through the 30 acres of gardens which were created by the Viscount René de Tocqueville in 1872. Wander along the pretty winding paths that lead through the attractive gardens with their remarkable trees, lakes and one of the few surviving Rotunda greenhouses from the 19th century all ready to be explored.
