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.

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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.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Zvonimir Hrvoj

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Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.

Château des Ravalet

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