The Château de Chantilly has been transformed several times over the centuries and been home to many illustrious figures in France's history. Its last resident, the Duke of Aumale, son of King Louis-Philippe, inherited Domaine de Chantilly in 1830. He was the greatest collector of his time turning the château into a stage-set for all his treasures which he bequeathed to the Institut de France in 1886 now known as the Musée Condé
Chantilly holds a magnificent collection of paintings, furnishings, manuscripts, art treasures, and books. One of the great treasures being the illuminated manuscript known as Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry which I showed at the beginning of each month on WFVM through 2013/14
The Château de Chantilly itself is one of the jewels in the crown of France's cultural heritage and well worth the journey from Paris. It is 40 km from the centre of Paris and takes just 25 mins travelling by SNCF-TER from Gare du Nord. Commencing for the first time this year it is now possible to travel to the château by coach departing from PARISCityVision ticket office in rue des Pyramides
The château sits at the confluence of the Rivers Oise and Seine and is a magnificent stone complex designed in 1560 by Jean Bullant, French renaissance architect, for Anne de Montmorency
Equestrian bronze statue of Anne de Montmorency - born 1492 at Chantilly - Honorary Knight of the Garter, he became Marshall and Constable of France
Statuary and paintings of dogs and horses feature prominently around and within the château reminding us that this was once a royal hunting estate
The Chapel
Surrounded by a 25 acre manicured water and parterre garden by André Le Nôtre, the landscape architect for Versailles.
The entrance hall with its magnificent stairway
The library is home to a collection of 19,000 rare and precious books - Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry is priceless and can only be viewed by means of a facsimile
hunting dogs leap around a ceiling frieze
The chandeliers were objects of great beauty, each one appearing to be more exquisite than the last
La Grande Singerie - The Grand Monkey Room
Drawing room walls hand painted with monkeys and Chinese figures, typical of the taste developed in the first third of the C18th during the Regency period
Both inside and out the château sparkles and is overwhelmingly beautiful
This is the merest glimpse of the masterpieces in the collection which includes Corot, Delacroix, Ingres, Poussin, Watteau, Raphaël, Botticelli, Fra Angelico, Filippino Lippi, Van Dyck, Joshua Reynolds and Caravaggio - the list goes on and on - it is the second largest collection in France after the Louvre
