Chantilly

[iank9]

Hi,

Joan: Noticed your thread regarding Chantilly.

The Chateau is very imposing, and reached by cobbled streets, and through a gated arch!

The Equine Museum is also worth a visit.

The grounds are lovely and a weekend destination for many.

There are also a number of nice cafes on the approach to sit and people watch.

I have attached a couple of photographs.





Last year we had a few days in Chantilly before dropping our son at CDG. The journey took abou 25mins.

Best wishes

[sistereurope]

Thanks Ian...it looks beautiful.

[annettecinca]

Nice photos, Ian! Chantilly is on my list for next time, so it was fun for me to find this topic this morning.

[Becky (Berkeleytravelers)]

Don't miss Sandy's photos of Chantilly in the "photos from past trips" thread -- they are great!

[sandy]

Becky:
Thanks for referring to my pictures. I should have posted them here. I have a couple more, so here they are:















We spent a lovely day at Chantilly. We took the train at Gare du Nord to Chantilly and then a taxi (8 eur) to the chateau. We felt it was "our" chateau, since there were almost anybody there. We walked in the grounds, then we went inside and saw the beautiful art collection, and we took a guided visit (in french) to the private apartments, very interesting. Then we went to the Living Museum of the Horse, a few minutes walk from the chateau, since my daughter rides and loves horses, she enjoyed it a lot. We then took a bus (free) to the train station and were back to Paris (25 min trip). A very nice day trip to get away from the turists crowds of Paris.

[Becky (Berkeleytravelers)]

Sandy, no apology necessary and thanks for posting even more! ;D

For those thinking of going, on a nice day you also can walk from the train station (probably about 10 to 15 minutes, well signed, through a wooded area where you almost expect to see a horse-drawn carriage come rattling by).

[annettecinca]

Great photos Sandy! Thanks! How wonderful for you to have had the place to yourself!

[Roniece]

Sandy, your pics are excellent! thanks for sharing with us

Roniece

[trechic]

Thank you, Sandy - what fabulous photos!
Becky?? Is the walk clearly marked thru the woods to the chateau??

[Becky (Berkeleytravelers)]

Trechic, we had no trouble finding the way (most of the path is parellel to a road, plus it runs alongside the racetrack.

[sandy]

Becky: you walked from the SNFC train station to the chateau at it took you 15 minutes? As we were on the taxi I was glad we took it because it seemed a very long way.
I forgot to mention there´s also a free shuttle bus from the station to the chateau, but it runs every hour or so, but as we just missed it we took the taxi.

[Becky (Berkeleytravelers)]

Sandy, maybe I'm remembering incorrectly, but I don't think it was more than that (maybe 20?). It just seemed like a very pleasant walk (but it also was not particularly hot, etc., which would make a difference in the summer).

[joan1]

Sorry guys ,, just found this thread,, wow, great photos Ian and Sandy,, I really must go!!
I will have to contact my relative and arrange to spend a night with them,, LOL,, they will be happy to have me,, and I will be happy to have something to see. These relatives used to live in Armentieres En Brie,, where there was NOTHING, no cafe,, not even a train station,, so visiting them seemed a bit more onerous. They are lovely people but VERY elderly, and speak no english,, so,, it could make for a long day!!
A day visit to the Chateau and then a nice dinner with them sounds lovely,, and less trouble for them also( they felt so guilty there was nothing for my son to do during our last visit that my elderly godfather actually drove us to Disneyland( no train station remember) about 30 minutes away,, with his leg in a cast,, son was thrilled to be doing 140 -50 kmh with the old dear ,, I was terrified! LOL

PS I wanted to exalt both Sandy and Ian for their help and photos,, but after exalting Sandy first,, found I can't exalt Ian for another hour!! So, I hope I remember to do that,, but if I don't Ian , consider yourself " exalted" LOL

[sandy]

Here are some useful links for Chantilly:

Tourist Office:

www.chantilly-tourisme.com/_UK-otchantilly.php

Chateau:

www.chateaudechantilly.com/

Living Museum of the Horse:

www.museevivantducheval.fr/fr/index.html

[sistereurope]

Thanks Sandy...my daughter would LOVE the Living Horse museum!! She loves everything and anything to do with horses and riding.
(Her stepbrothers teased her terribly in Paris by pretending to search out a restaurant that served horse meat!!)

[Becky (Berkeleytravelers)]

Sister, we accidentally came across a horsemeat butcher shop somewhere around the Pantheon when we got lost trying to make our way down the "backside" of that hill -- sorry, but I too find that more than a bit unnerving!

[sistereurope]

My husband ate horsemeat "sushi" in Japan!!...all I can say is that it's a good thing I wasn't there!!!

[sandy]

Sister:
My daughter LOVES horses also (she practices dressage and showjumping), so we went there especially for her. There are shows, though they are too theatrical for our taste, and dressage demontrations, one of which we attended and was very good.
There´s also a nice gift shop with lots of horse stuff. My daughter bought a horse bracelet and a t-shirt for her.
Here are just some of the pictures she took at the musee, so you can see she is a horse maniac also:

[sistereurope]

Sandy - thanks so much for posting these photos! I'm going to show them to my daughter (who will now bug me to take her there!)

We went to Les Invalides when we were in Paris...too much military stuff for me, but my daughter liked looking at all of the horse armour (she's a "knights in shining armour" fan too ;D )

[sandy]

There is also an equestrian academy at Versailles, but it was closed in May when we were there. If you want to check:

www.acadequestre.fr/index-3-couverture-en-0-0-0.htm