Hi there !
Because I've been absolutely obsessed with the British series The White Queen, me and my dad went to visit a castle in the Belgian town Beloeil last week :)
It is a beautiful medieval castle, claimed to be the Belgian version of Versailles.
Inside the castle is kept very carefully, furniture and art are still in place and very well treated. I loved the medieval vibe the place gave me, it was kind of magical being able to walk where counts and countesses have walked ages ago.
The only thing that displeased me a bit was that sometimes light and power switches were very prominent and that sometimes beautiful carpets were hidden under a layer of other carpets to preserve them.
The castle is surrounded by a huge garden and almost every window had a magnificent view. Can you imagine waking up, drawing back the curtains and the first thing you see is a massive tree with little birds in it? :)
As a book lover, the library was my favourite piece. Each wall is completely covered in books, carefully kept behind glass. The library is completely furnitured in wood which gives the light in there a very warm tone. Perfect for an afternoon of book reading and tea sipping ;)
My second favourite place was a little hall covered completely in portraits, like this one here above of Marie-Antoinette.
The first thing you see when heading out to the garden is the massive pond in the centre. Absolutely stunning ! But when you step a little closer, you can already notice that the garden and pond aren't very well kept. The pond is covered with plants and the statues are slowly degrading.
Judging from the pictures on the information boards, the garden used to be so lovely. Each tree was cut very neatly and the ponds would be so smooth that they resembled mirrors. But those things are nowhere to be seen these days. The trees overshadow the gardens and the ponds are covered in dirt and plants. I was disappointed to see that such a beautiful garden could be so neglected.
There were also certain parts of the garden that weren't open to the public, parts that seemed really lovely like the orangery and the chapel for example. I would have loved to see those.
The castle is definitely worth a visit, but to me the garden was disappointing, maybe because my expectations were a bit too high... The inside is definitely worth it ;)
♥
