Monday 1 February - Chantilly

Chantilly is on the northern outskirts of Paris and just outside the RATP zone system so a special ticket has to be used.  We went out on RER line D from the bowels of the Gare du Nord, platform 41, and stopped at all stations.  Chantilly is the location of another enormous chateau and grounds which are dotted all around the country.  It was a little walk from the station but we preferred this to looking up a free bus service from the bus station.  The day was mild and the walk was pleasant although we had to circumnavigate the race course.

The stables are enormous

Horses are a very important part of Chantilly and we had to walk around the enormous stables which are pretty much as big as the chateau itself.  The chateau has been well restored and the grounds and water features are magnificent.  The interior is interesting and laid out so as to show off the rooms and the furniture.  The original mansion was destroyed in the French Revolution.  Chantilly was entirely rebuilt in 1875–1881 by Henri d'Orléans, duc d'Aumale (1822–1897) to the designs of Honore Daumet.  The Duc d'Aumale bequeathed the property to the Institut de France upon his death in 1897.

We had a quick walk around the outside to admire the water but decided against a two hour walk to walk right around the canal.  The visit to the chateau was interesting although the large number of paintings and other works or art were bewildering and overwhelming.  

The Library

The Monkey Room

The Music Room

Dome of the Rotunda

There was a high end restaurant but the menu and prices did not attract us. The stables have been turned into a museum which includes horses, donkeys, ponies etc as well as a history of horses and other equine items.  We found a very small cafe in the Horse Museum where we had quiches and a tarte aux pommes.  

The walk back to the station was through the town of Chantilly which seems full of high end shops and restaurants and very few businesses were open.

Pollarding the trees is a winter work.

The ride back was on a Picardy TER train which only stopped at Orry-le-Ville before Gare du Nord.

Click here to see all pictures taken at Chantilly