An extraordinary garden
The region is also home to some magnificent gardens, most notably the Jardins de Marqueyssac, which we visited in early autumn in exceptionally warm, sunny weather for the season. Set on a rocky outcrop overlooking the River Dordogne and offering breathtaking scenery, these gardens feature 6 kilometres of shady walks lined with 150,000 hundred-year-old hand-trimmed box trees, and embellished with belvederes, rockeries, waterfalls and green theatres. Boxwoods are omnipresent throughout the park, sometimes in their natural, barely-worked form, sometimes pruned and showcased with a fantasy full of movement, all in round, bushy shapes, but also in geometric forms in front of the entrance to the château. Numerous features laid out in the 19th century enhance the walk through the park: Belvederes, winding paths, small staircases, green corridors, three dry-stone huts, a large esplanade dedicated to entertainment and receptions, a calvary, rockeries, benches carved out of the rock... From the belvederes you can take in the whole valley, and enjoy exceptional views of the châteaux of Beynac, Fayrac and Castelnaud-la-Chapelle, as well as beautiful villages such as Domme and La Rocque-Gageac. At Château de Marqueyssac, you can watch a film explaining the work carried out by the team of gardeners to maintain and beautify the grounds, as well as discover an exhibition on Marius Rossillon, great-grandfather of the estate's owner and above all a brilliant illustrator, known under the pseudonym of O'Galop for having been the first illustrator of the Bonhomme MICHELIN.
Temporary exhibitions and shows complete the programme in the high season, and to round off the visit, you can discover a 7.50 m long and 2.50 m high Allosaurus skeleton, discovered in 2013 in the United States and acquired in December 2016 by Kléber Rossillon. 150 million years old and exceptionally well preserved, it is one of the most representative examples of the Jurassic period in Europe, and particularly in the region. And for the more adventurous, there's a Via Ferrata course on the cliffside, a hundred metres above river level, offering a 200-metre acrobatic cliff climb to discover on your own. This activity is offered at no extra charge, but even with this considerable advantage, it was out of the question for us to try this adventure, as I'm prone to vertigo... We preferred to have a drink in the château's restaurant, with a bird's-eye view of the hot-air balloons taking off from the grounds of Château de Fayrac.To conclude, we had a superb day out, partly because the Jardins de Marqueyssac are extraordinarily beautiful, offering some remarkable scenery, and partly because in this autumnal period the gardens are much less frequented by tourists. A word of advice: allow 4 to 5 hours for your visit, and take your time...
More info : https://www.marqueyssac.com
