Chateau Chantilly

We took a train from Gare du Nord to get to this chateau.  It was about 40 minutes.  At the train station there was a bus that took us to the chateau for free.  A walk would have been about 25 minutes.  We knew we would be walking all day so we took the bus.  

You need to buy a ticket in advance to get in and it is a timed ticket as well.  There are several options.  You can just go on the grounds, enter the chateau, enter the stables, and view the reading room.  There were also private tours to the personal apartments.  The gardens here were massive and you could rent golf carts or bikes.  The price for a golf cart was 30 euros for an hour, about five euros less than the last chateau.  We bought the regular ticket, but added on the reading room. 

The entrance to the chateau did not feel as grand as other chateaus.  I liked the view as you drove in by the water better.  You can download an app on your phone and get an audio guide and a map for the chateau.  We went to the chapel first. There was a video playing in French that quite a few people were watching.  

Before you enter the chapel, you walk around this rotunda and these are the statues holding the lamps.  I thought it was cool. 

I don’t know if I had chateau fatigue or there were just too many people there, but I didn’t enjoy this chateau as much as the others.  

The one exception was the reading room.  It was this beautiful library with books from as far back as the 1100s.  

The area next to the fireplace with these cool reading chairs was the best!  I need some of those chairs. 

The books were tiny, that you could see on the shelves.  

This book was massive and from 1456. 

There were books on display in the middle and if you are a scholar and need a book for research, you can contact the chateau and make an appointment to view it in a private reading room.  I love that they are still sharing books. 

They called this the monkey room, as it is obviously named from the decorations. 

The dining hall was what I think of when I think of a medieval castle. 

The rest of the house was dedicated to the owner’s art collection.  It is actually set up the same way as art museums. 

The owner of the house was a prince.  He lived there until he passed away and gave the chateau and all its contents to the government of France.  

I really felt like I was walking around in a museum instead of someone’s home.  

These stained glass pieces were very rare for the time.  You only saw stained glass in churches. 

After viewing the chateau, we walked over to the stables.  We were curious what the building was when we entered the chateau and couldn’t believe it was stables.  There is not house, it’s just for the horses.  It’s incredible. 

We saw a few horses out on the trails when we entered. 

I loved being able to see the horses and talking to them. You are not allowed to touch them.  

They have two outdoor rings in the stable area, that we saw.  

There is also a museum section with stirrups, bridles, saddles, and other horse equipment through the ages. 

We went into the arena area and found this woman training a “unicorn”.  If you buy a ticket with entrance to the stables, you can also watch an equestrian show. The show we would have been able to see was at 2 and we were there around 11.  

We stopped at a pastry shop to grab some lunch and ate it outside.