The Japanese garden at Château de Courances: a bucolic and exotic stroll in the Paris region

Looking for the most beautiful Japanese gardens around Paris? How about a visit to the superb Domaine du Château de Courances in Essonne (91)? Located in the Gâtinais region, 47 km from Paris, the 75-hectare Domaine de Courances park has been classified as aremarkable garden since 2013.

The Japanese garden on video :

As a reminder, the " remarkable garden " label distinguishes both ancient and contemporary gardens, gardens of royal origin as well as private or shared gardens, whether or not they are protected as historic monuments. Granted for 5 years, the label is awarded on the basis of the following criteria: integration into the site, presence of remarkable features, botanical interest, historical interest, quality of communication and documentation, exemplary upkeep, respect for the environment and a warm welcome for visitors.

In short, this park, considered one of the most beautiful in France, has many assets. It boasts France's best-preserved Renaissance water garden, 14 springs and 17 water features, no less.

This time, the focus is on the estate's Japanese garden. On arrival, cross the central driveway leading to the still-inhabited château and, once in front of it, turn left to reach La Foulerie, the cosy tea room facing the famous Japanese garden.

This Foulerie, where hemp was once crushed in the 17th century, is now the ideal setting for a bucolic break. With its terrace overlooking the Japanese garden, it's the ideal spot for a snack with a breathtaking view.

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In reality, this is an Anglo-Japanese garden. In fact, some elements of a true Japanese garden are missing, but the use of certain species and the pruning and layout methods specific to the Japanese garden are there, such as the typical cloud pruning. For the record, cloud pruning involves sculpting a tree's silhouette tocreate a crown cut into a succession of green clouds .

This rather recent garden was created in the 1930s by the current owner's grandmother, Berthe de Ganay. With the help of Kitty Lloyd-Jones (a pupil of Gertrude Jekyll, who invented the principle of the English "mixed-border" - beds of flowering plants set against a hedge), she created a setting where Japanese maples, purple beeches, tulips and hyacinths delight us with their colors all year round, both in spring and in autumn, when the maples blaze .

The château park is open on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from the end of March to November 3, from 2pm to 6pm. A visit to the park costs €9 (full price) and €7 (reduced price). For the full tour, including the château, you'll pay €12.