The Désert de Retz is a garden on the edge of the forêt de Marly in the commune of Chambourcy, in north-central France. It was created at the end of the 18th century by the aristocrat François Racine de Monville on his 40-hectare (99-acre) estate. The architect Boullée was involved in the creation of both Monville's town houses; it is less likely he had much do with the Désert de Retz, although Monville did, for a while, engage him as assistant to the architect Francois Barbier until 1780. Monville probably designed many of the features and structures himself, or had a strong supervisory role.

Chambourcy is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located 3 km (1.9 mi) west of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and about 25 km (16 mi) west of Paris.