Paris1972-Versailles2003

Indeed one of favorite castles in France, and friends of the castle as well. WE love it, and been coming here since 1990 and then almost every year! and friend of the castle since 2009. This is Chantilly is in the département 60 of the Oise, in the region of Hauts-de-France at the center of the forest of Chantilly, in the valley of the Nonette, and of course, in my belle France. I have written before several posts but will try to condense this one on the gardens. You got it is a beautiful property indeed. Therefore, let me tell you about the Château de Chantilly, gardens !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I

It is formally known as the Domaine de Chantilly built slowly since the Middle Ages by different owners such as Anne de Montmorency, and the Bourbon Condé such as the Grand Condé cousin of Louis XIV and Henri d’Orléans, duke of Aumale before by will given for custody to the Institut de France as long as is kept without changes and open to the public. Awesome gesture! Anne de Montmorency was constable of France  under king François I . It passes to the Condé who ask André le Nôtre the great gardener of France to do the gardens with permission from Louis XIV at the same time as was doing Versailles! Finally, it was the Duke of Aumale the last Condé and fifth child of Louis-Philippe last French king who re built the castle from the ruins of the French revolution. Tragic events here are by François Vatel (who claims the cream of Chantilly), howver, he was the organiser of the 3 days of feast to celebrate the accords between the Grand Condé and the cousin of this king Louis XIV in 1671. The Holy Friday day of the feast and last day of it, the order of fish never arrives, touch by this incident he takes his own life upon the arrival of the invitées.  Again, Louis IV Henri de Bourbon-Condé with heir to his fortune after the execution of his son the duke of Enghien in 1804 by Napoléon Ier bequest his properties in 1830 to his nephew and godson of Henri d’Orléans, Duke of Aumale, fifth child of king of the French Louis-Philippe.

The Domaine de Chantilly, has a grandiose entrance coming from parking P1 is a great view. There is wrough iron grill door.  You then see in front of you the equestrian statue of Anne de Montmorency and to the left the Castle. Further left of the castle back you have the English garden from the 19C, here you have the Île d’Amour or love island the pont des Grands Hommes (bridge of notable men) ,the temple of Venus, and further towards the stables you have the Jeu de Paume for temporary expositions and the Fontaines de Beauvais. Straight back down the monumental stairs and the water fountain, you have the garden of Le Nôtre from the 17C with an unique system of water irrigation still going strong today. To the right as you come up to the equestrian statue of Montmorency you see the Petit Parc or small park with below it the Maison de Sylvie from the 17-18C. There are enclosure of kangaroos, and honey combs . Across the canal separating the petit parc you have the Anglo-Chinese garden of the 18C with the Hameau now a dining experience, and Children playground. Way back if you walk you will see the Grande Cascade or big waterfall. Again a wonderful place to be !

With an area of 115 hectares, the Parc du Château de Chantilly brings together several creation eras: the French garden drawn by André Le Nôtre in the 17C, the Anglo-Chinese garden at the end of the 18C, and the English garden at the beginning of the 19C. Just sublime !!! The gardens are compose of three sections, the jardin a la française design by Le Notre, the jardin anglo-chinois around a hameau or house done between 1772-1774 , and the jardin anglais done in 1817; around which there is the temple of Vénus ,and the parks of Cabotière and Sylvi.. It takes about an hour to really see these. You can make longer by going to the Potager des Princes or prince veggies garden. Begin at the English garden or jardin anglais with its platanesques trees, take the allée Blanche and continue on the  canal des Morfondus to reach the Chapel of St Jean (built 1538); take a half turn and cross the canal des morfondus by a passarelle bridge to reach the hameau or country house created in 1774, along the banks you will see the Grand Canal to see the castle from the back great view indeed. When you return go by the allée des Philosophes; you can see kangaroos if you go outside their sleeping time very early.

The vegetable garden of the Princes or the potager des Princes is an old garden of Phesandry built in 1682. By 1773, Louis V Joseph de Bourbon-Condé change it to the Roman pavilion or pavillon Romain aka salon de Rafraîchissement (refreshement room). It was split from the domain during the French revolution and became private property and a horse clinic. All was restored by Yves Bienaimé, also the creator of the museum of the living horse and opened to the public in 2002. Along the Nonette river there is the building of the pavillon de Manse built in 1678 to house an hydraulic machine. The use of it was to push the waters of one source, falling to the reservoir at open air, and from there distribute the water to the basins fountains and cascades, water games decorating the gardens of the Grand Condé, designed by Le Nôtre. Next to the pavillon de Manse there was a building built in the 20C to stock and supply the Castle and town of water and to house an industrial laundry that you can still visit.

The table of Montgrésin is on the south of the forest limiting the territory of the city and Avilly-Saint-Léonard, in the middle of the traffic circle on the route between La Chapelle-en-Serval and Chantilly. This table de Montgrésin or table of the king in stone dates from 1669-1670 according to the plans of André Le Nôtre. It is a sacred place of the hunting, traditional rdv for the depart of hunters from the Prince and its successors of the chase. It was ,also, a place where the Prince welcome the visitors at the entrance to their domain like in 1671,when the Grand Condé hosted king Louis XIV.

In all a splendid castle very nicely done and kept with lots of architecture and history ,and beautiful gardens. I enjoyed the Domaine de Chantilly and hopefully you will do too once visited.

The official Château de Chantilly: Official Domaine de Chantilly in English

The Chantilly Tourist office on the Domaine: Official tourist office of Chantilly on the Domaine in English

The Oise dept 60 tourist office on the castle: TOurist office of dept 60, the Oise on Chantilly

There you go folks another wonder of my belle France waiting to be visited and now during Christmas time it is completely decorated for it!  Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Château de Chantilly, gardens !!! as I.

And remember, happy travels,good health, and many cheers to all !!!