Chantilly Castle – Château de Chantilly

(Last Update: 11.09.2024) In this article, we will talk about one of the most beautiful castles you can see around Paris. Château de Chantilly – Chantilly CastleWe will visit together. We are in a magnificent, impressive castle again, but this time our job is a little easier. Because Chantilly Castle is one of the most comfortable and enjoyable castles to visit.; It is not a vast series of buildings like the others, but a very beautiful castle with a neat plan.

Château de Chantilly (build a castle) name will not be unfamiliar to you. Yes, you know, the famous one we all know. This is the castle that gave its name to "whipped cream". Although I thought whipped cream was a very complicated thing; As someone who doesn't know much about the kitchen, my friend is the best professional chef I know. SeaI asked him, and it turns out that what we call whipped cream is a mixture of regular milk cream and powdered sugar. Although he gave much more detail, but that is not our topic right now, I didn't understand it either :) I just want to give a little additional information: Original whipped cream This word is actually whipped cream We should read it like this, but for some reason it is not translated into our language. whipped cream settled as, I too hand forced I will continue that way. Oh, actually, just to pronounce it a little more accurately. my construction site We should say that, but I'm not going into those pronunciation details at all :)

I heard about this dreamy castle from my friend Timur, who worked for a French company in Turkey, when I first settled in Paris. They often came to Paris for company meetings and sometimes held meetings in hotels near this castle. Since I was not keen on going to Paris when I had not yet discovered the city, we all objected to the boy's insistence on taking us here when he came to visit us in Paris with his wife in the summer of 2012. A week or two after they left, we went to Chantilly ourselves and when we saw this fairy-tale castle in front of us, we realized how right Timur was. I send him my greetings and love from here 😉

For our first trip in the summer of 2012, we came to Chantilly by train. For this Gare du Nord'from Creil heading towards RER-Dheading to or in the same direction Ligne H So, take the H Line train, Chantilly–Gouvieux It is enough to get off at the station. As I always say, you need to confirm whether the train you are going to take stops at this station from the digital boards at the station. Before I forget, let me share this information: Chantilly is another region'in, Picardie Because it is in the region Navigo or other public transport cards This does not happen on trains. Therefore, you need to buy a special one-way ticket to this station from the station.

After getting off at Chantilly – Gouvieux, we reached the castle with about a half-hour walk. If you wish, you can take advantage of the free shuttle. There is a free shuttle service every weekend from the beginning of July to the beginning of October.. You can find flight times and other transportation details in the official web page link at the end of the article.

On my subsequent visits, I preferred to arrive with my own vehicle. It is both more practical and more enjoyable. Especially if you choose a non-highway route instead of toll roads on GPS, you will be traveling through beautiful villages. Of course, this takes much longer.

50 kilometers north of Paris If you come to the castle with your car, you can park it daily in the paid parking area right opposite. When you see the castle from afar, you don't see anything else, as I said, it is a dreamlike place. Admiring the castle and the greenery of the surroundings, you walk down the meadow and reach the main entrance gate.

The entrance ticket to Chantilly Castle gives you access to the castle, the garden and the castle located just opposite. Musée du Cheval – Horse MuseumIt gives you the opportunity to visit the Horse Museum (yes, there is also the Horse Museum). If you want to buy tickets for periodic exhibitions and events, the price varies. You can find current prices and other details in the official website link at the end of the article.

When you enter the garden from the main gate and start walking towards the castle, you first climb a ramp and see the statue, which is represented on a horse on the base in the middle and was one of the former owners of the castle. Anne of MontmorencyYou reach the statue of . The entrance gate of the castle is here. Although the last time I went Tour de France Due to this reason, the entrance to the castle was from the backyard, but normally the door you need to enter is here. This means that in some exceptional cases, the entrance door may change.

When you pass through the retractable castle gate and reach the courtyard where you will go back a few centuries in history, the structure surrounding you may seem a little small, but I can assure you that the inside of that magnificent castle you see from a distance is equally magnificent. The view of the entrance you will reach when you enter through the main door directly in front of you is as in the photo below. You will agree with me the moment you enter.

Visiting Chantilly Castle is easier than other large castles I said. Because as soon as you enter from the main entrance, the castle is divided into three main branches. You tour these three wings separately and always return to the center point you see in the photo above. If you wish, let's first start with the section we can reach by climbing the steps to the right of the entrance.

this hall Galerie des Cerfs It is mentioned as . In the past, this place was used as a dining hall and reception area. Even though the heavy wood tones are depressing, I'm sure what you'll see next will lift your heart. Of course, you can wander around as you wish after that, but first, I suggest you enter through the second door on the right, not the first, as you see in the photo below. 

The hall you see when you enter from the second door on the right Picture Gallery It is stated as; As the name suggests, this is an enormous section where valuable paintings are exhibited. Already The most important feature of Chantilly Castle is its history in France. Louvre MuseumIt is the second museum opened after .

Last king of France III. Napoleonthe son of Duc d'AumaleWhen he settled in the castle after 23 years of exile in England, he decided to exhibit his entire collection as a museum, and this place Musee Condé It opens with its name. In fact, it is still called Musée Condé. The name Condé comes from the Condé Family, which owned the castle from 1643. 

There are many valuable paintings in Galerie de Peinture. One wonders whether to look at these magnificent paintings on the walls, the decoration, the light coming from the ceiling, or the round section with marble columns designed like an altar right in front of them. You can spend a lot of time in this hall, where you can see the most valuable examples of Italian and French painting. For me, this hall has an emotional value as follows:

When I first visited this place in the summer of 2012, I sat on these stairs and took a photo in a similar pose, as in the photo below. Now, with the energy I got from the same marble steps, thinking about my experiences in the past four years, I felt lucky to be able to take a similar photo in such a fascinating atmosphere. Moreover, this time I had the opportunity to publish the photo I took on such a blog. Yes, I'm absolutely sure: Life is on my side... (See: A Year in Heaven, Second Year in Heaven, Third Year in Heaven, Fourth Year in Heaven, Fifth Year in Heaven, Sixth Year in Heaven)

When you enter this circular section, you will see that there is a door to the right, you can pass through this door and continue your tour. Rows of rooms, rooms full of beautiful paintings, art objects, and a magnificent garden seen from the window will all contribute to your trip being like a dream.

This route will take you back to the section where Galerie des Cerf is located, which is also known as the dining hall. From here, go back to Galerie de Peinture, where I think the paintings are again, and enter through the left door of that hall and continue your tour. This time, you will see a small room on the left side of the long gallery-shaped hall you enter. Here in that room Rafael's famous painting in 1504-1505 Three Graces – Les Trois Grâces There is a table…

I always say: If you are very rich, you can buy the most luxurious items in the world. If you wish, you can exaggerate, for example, station wagon gold plated Ferrari You can even get it done, but everything you can buy with money can be bought by someone else, because you are not the only rich person. Then, in the world of the rich, being an art collector can be a much more important sign of prestige and a source of personal satisfaction. Because, for example, if you pay as much money as you want for this painting by Rafaél, you cannot have another one painted. That's why owning such priceless works of art is a source of a different pleasure.

The last owner of the castle and its art collection, the Duke d'Aumale, bought the castle together with its land and works of art. Institute of FranceSince it was donated to , everything you see now belongs to the Institue de France. A different kind of wealth where money does not pass You can't match this no matter what you do.

When the track takes you back to Galerie des Cerf, we have finished the first - and in my opinion, the most impressive - wing of the castle. But don't worry, we still have a lot to see. When we go to the section where the main entrance is and turn right this time, we enter the first hall of the section where the second wing is located. There are nice paintings and beautiful sculptures here too, but the real surprise comes when you enter through the first door on the left.

You see that there is an extremely impressive library here too... Books are important, reading is important, culture is important, art is important. The incredible accumulation of all of them draws you in again in this library. You look at the books lined up to the ceiling, looking for something familiar in them.

What I came across among the books Tales from La Fontaine happened. First I think of these fairy tales I read as a child, then Vaux le Vicomte CastleLa Fontaine's study, which I saw in , came. La Fontaine was highly respected in this castle as well as there...

Then you continue to move along the route. I don't know which one to tell anymore. After a while, your senses fail due to the intensity of cultural and artistic stimuli :) Decorations, art objects, architectural details keep hitting the furthest corners of your mind, and after a while you become dizzy. Still, I'm sure you'll enjoy it tremendously.

Don't mind me talking about all the magnificence and magnificence, Chantilly Castle is much more beautiful than many other French castles. modest; At least on a much more human and navigable scale. You don't get lost while wandering from place to place, you see every aspect of it, both good and bad.

Sometimes you go back and forth between gloomy rooms, sometimes bright halls with gold leaf on white and fancy embroidery. The history of the castle from the 14th to the 19th century You are having a pleasant journey in it.

On the one hand, you are happy that the Chantilly Castle, which was used as a prison during the French Revolution and was in danger of extinction afterwards, has survived to the present day, but on the other hand, you are happy to see the money spent to build this place (and other castles), the value of the hard work that other people shed for that money, and the injustice. You are trying to weigh and measure on a scale. As I often try to underline: Life is not fair...

With these feelings, you reach the music room at the far end of the second wing. When you see the harp just sitting in the corner, a strange smile comes to your face. Do you think who played this harp once? If your imagination is a little rich, you can hear those tones even now... 

Music room the last part of the second wing; You cannot go anywhere else from here, you return to the same track, and on the way, you look at other details you missed before and return to the entrance where the main entrance door is. After this, it's time for the third and last wing of the castle.

To do this, you turn right, go around that magnificent staircase, follow the steps opposite and step into the chapel where the corridor will take you. This place is much more modest than the chapels I have seen in other castles, but my advice to you is to go to the back of the dais you will see on the right; because there is a separate section at the back with wonderful sculptures. 

Then we return to the main entrance again and this time we go down those beautiful stairs. Below museum shop there is also The Harbor Master's Office The restaurant referred to as . Here you can try Chantilly's famous whipped cream.

Then it's time to visit the garden... It was easy to visit the castle, but you need a solid condition to visit the garden. It is so big and so beautiful that if you visit one side, you will be reminded of the other side. Famous garden landscaper André le NotreMost of the garden he designed is known as the French garden, but some parts that were destroyed after the French Revolution were later renamed as a French garden. English Garden ve chinese garden Rearranged as. 

It is quite enjoyable to walk around the castle in the garden, because Chantilly Castle gives a different photo from every angle. Sometimes you feel like you are looking at a medieval castle, sometimes a Renaissance castle stands before you. Depending on the weather and light conditions, you have the opportunity to take a different photo from every corner of the garden / park. Especially the best thing is to rent an electric car and travel around. in April 2018 Gulcin I can't tell you how much fun we had when we rented an electric car and went to Chantilly Castle with Ömer...

On the east side of the park Restaurant Hammeau and just ahead is a large labyrinth. Labirent What I said is a large place made of high bushes; It may be interesting for children and even for you. Otherwise it's the most beautiful labyrinth I've ever seen. Chenonceau CastleIt was in the garden of… Also in the garden Masion de Sylvie ve Château de d'Enghien There are also buildings like these, but after visiting Chantilly Castle, these seem simple to you :) However, if you saw these buildings somewhere else, you would put them in touristic catalogs and recommend that they should be visited… 

On the west side there is the English garden, which I liked very much. When you look back from time to time while walking towards here, you can't get enough of the view of the castle among the greenery. In the middle of the English garden, the photo you see above the island of love (Love Island) and just ahead Temple de Venus it's worth to be seen.

And on the road, you come across a sheepfold where sheep graze. You wonder where you are and how you feel. If you have the means, you can visit the garden of the castle, that is, this giant park, from corner to corner, but I couldn't manage :) Also, don't waste all your energy. Horse Museum'And where will you go... 

Yes, as I said before, on the other side of the road there is a building almost bigger than Chantilly Castle. Horse Museum and hippodrome, you can visit this museum with the ticket you have. You only need to purchase additional tickets for special horse shows.

I think you can visit the inside of the castle in 1-2 hours. How long you take to visit the garden is up to you. After that Horse Museum'Well, considering that we will spare at least half an hour, maybe an hour, I think we should spare time to visit the center of Chantilly in the finale. Because like almost all French cities/towns/villages, the center of Chantilly is very beautiful. Especially afterwards, it is extremely enjoyable to randomly wander around the endless greenery of the Chantilly forest land and observe people running, walking, cycling and even horseback riding.

Yes, I am happy to introduce you to one of the must-see castles around Paris. I am aware that your job will get harder as I write, because I am sure you will be confused about which one you should visit. For these castle tours, you must have either visited Paris a little before or such places must be of special interest to you. Especially A Week in Paris If you are going to visit Chantilly Castle, I'm not sure if you should put it on your list, but 15 Days in Paris If you are going to visit, I can say that this is among the must-see places.

Otherwise, on your first trip, especially if you have been to Paris for less than a week, there is a high risk that you will miss the beauties of the center of Paris by going to the castles. As I always say, Paris is not a place that can be visited once and finished. I have been here as a tourist many times and have been living here for many years, but I could not finish it. Don't let it end anyway. Especially if you are one of those who like to visit castles, you should spend a week. Loire Valley Castles Tour However, it is a completely different fairy tale world.

Pleasant trips, pleasant discoveries.

Web address: domainedechantilly.com/en/

Address: 60500 Chantilly

Other Castles in and Around Paris:

• Louvre Museum – Musée du Louvre
• Palace of Versailles – Château de Versailles
• Vincennes Castle – Château de Vincennes
• Saint Germain Castle – National Archaeological Museum
• Fontainebleau Castle – Château de Fontainebleau
• Pierrefonds Castle – Château de Pierrefonds
• Compiègne Castle – Château de Compiègne
• Vaux le Vicomte Castle – Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte
• La Roche Guyon Castle – Château de la Roche-Guyon
• Castle of Monte Cristo – Château de Monte-Cristo
• Malmaison Castle – Château de Malmaison
• Maisons Laffitte Castle – Château de Maisons-Laffitte

For those who like to visit castles:

• Loire Valley Castles Tour Program