Photo : Julien.scavini / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Château des Ravalet
The château des Ravalet, or château de Tourlaville, is a Renaissance residence at Tourlaville, now part of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin (Manche). Its construction began in 1562 under the direction of Jean II de Ravalet and his brother Jacques, on the foundations of an old fortress.
The rectangular building, flanked by round corner towers, is raised in blue schist with limestone frames. Mullioned windows and ornate dormers characterise its style. Inside, you notice a monumental sixteenth-century fireplace in the guardroom and the octagonal blue room with a painted domed ceiling. It remains attached to Julien and Marguerite de Ravalet, executed in 1603.
The park of about 14 hectares, remodelled in 1872, includes two ponds, a grotto and a greenhouse restored in 2001. Labelled "Remarkable Garden" in 2004, it has hosted since 2014 a garden designed by Gilles Clément. The town of Cherbourg has owned the castle since 1935. The castle is open at certain periods, notably in summer on guided tours and during Heritage Days.
