Sue

Has anyone been to Chantilly,north of Paris? Is it worth a visit and is there anything else in the area to see? What is the best way to get there? From there we will be going to Brugge. <BR> <BR>Thanks for any info. Sue

francesca

I have only seen the outside of the chateau, which is very dramatic and beautiful. YOu can walk and picnic in the surounding woods. There is next door the riding museum, which you might like if you are a horse lover. Finally, Chantilly itself is a cute town with a nice shopping street running down the middle. While you are there, if you can, go to Senlis which is an even lovlier town with a stunning cathedral. Both are easy day trips from Paris.

Karl

Sue <BR>Are you driving to Brugge from Paris airport? If so you will go right by Cantilly on the way. Exit the highway and drive over to the grounds (you can park easily right by the entrance gate). There is a small charge for parking. At the gate you can buy a pass for the grounds only or for the grounds and the interiors as well. The choice is yours. We did this last fall, drove to Chantilly, spent a short time there (we chose to not go inside and just wandered the grounds), then drove into the village and stopped for some goodies at a nice bakery, then back to the highway and on to Brugge. This was a Sunday morning. By the way, the exit and route to Chantilly from the highway is well marked, and it is quite easy to get back to the highway from the village, again very well marked. I think it is worth a stop.

eva

The chateau has one of the best painting collections in France,they've got 3 works from Raphael etc.Some parts are visited with Museum Pass,some parts only with guided tour.It is worth the visit.But the Musse du Cheval-Equestran Museum-next door for me was boring.

StCirq

The Château at Chantilly is simply lovely, with a wide moat, swans, a classic. The art collection within its Musée Condé is superb, including a gallery of miniature portraits, works by Raphaul, Botticelli, and Ingres, and best of all the illuminated 15th-century manuscript, Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. Note the château is closed on Tuesdays.The Musée Vivant du Cheval is impressive if you're a horse lover. <BR>Chantilly is a straight shot out of Paris on the N16. Ten km to the east is Senlis, worth stopping in for its cathedral and beautifully preserved medieval quarter, though it would divert you a bit from the route to Bruges.

Kavey

My french exchange partner is from L'Oise, in a village near Noyon, which is near Compiegne (delightful cathedral town with beautiful and typical french boutique shopping and markets). <BR> <BR>On the many return trips I made to her family, one of the trips we did was to Chantilly. <BR> <BR>We didn't enter but instead enjoyed the grounds. It is a beautiful chateau, very photogenice reflected in the surrounding waters. <BR> <BR>As mentioned above, it is a town also of interest to horse lovers. <BR> <BR>As to whether it is worth it, that is hard to answer for anyone else. <BR> <BR>I think it was beautiful and treasure the memory of a perfect day out with my host family, though I dont know that I would go far out of my way to see it I would certainly stop by if were passing. <BR> <BR>Have you also visited the famous chateaux of the Loire? If not, this may be a more magical experience for you. <BR> <BR>If the weather is good, it would be wonderful for a picnic. <BR> <BR>There are so many places to visit in this part of France, especially for those with an interest in history. <BR> <BR>My exchange partner's now-husband, then boyfriend, is a history teacher (was then studying it) and is particularly interested in the 2 world wars. <BR> <BR>He showed me a whole lot of sites, remembered by the French but not on the usual tourist trails... <BR> <BR>Perhaps somewhere a lesser treaty was signed, maybe some natural caves where soldiers camped, or the remnants of trenches undulating under the grass... <BR> <BR>Not that I got distracted by the memories there or anything

Kavey

For the Fodors spelling police, yes I can spell photogenic!

Dawn

Visited Chantilly 2 years ago, and it was great. Everything St. Cirq says is true. I think its worth a visit. Chantilly is a big horse town as others have mentioned.

Lori

We were at Chantilly in April, my husband's niece drove us up there from Paris one afternoon (after umpteen visits to Paris we had never seen the chateau). It's a lovely chateau, beautiful grounds, lake, etc. Parking was sort of in a field and around trees but other then that it was fine. Lots of French families picnicing in the area. In fact when we were there in April 99% of the people on the grounds were French. The inside was nice (paintings, etc.) but our niece's kids (5 & 3) enjoyed the outdoors much more so we spent a lot of time on the grounds! It's rather a dramatic chateau and quite enjoyable. Lots of picture ops.

Sue

Thanks for all the responses!!! <BR> <BR>I'm not a history buff, but love art and architechure. Chantilly sounds charming! <BR> <BR>We haven't decide yet whether to drive from Paris to Bruge or take the train. Leaning toward the train since we will be flying out of Brussels and don't know about renting in one place and dropping off in another country. <BR> <BR>Can you get to Chantilly by train? Would we be able to do it without a car? If it isn't practical we may just do a day trip out of Paris to Chantilly and then take the train the following day to Bruge. <BR> <BR>How far is Chantilly from Paris? <BR> <BR>All advise is appreciated! Sue <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Judy

A few years ago my daughter and I took a train trip from Paris to Chantilly. My bought wonderful fresh fruit, veggies and bread (which we had for lunch) at the outdoot matket. Then we walked to the chateau and the horse museum (which I, personally, enjoyed more. My daughter liked the chateau better. Suxh is life. After we walked back towrds the train through some woods. All in all, it was a lovely day trip.

BTilke

Sue, <BR>Don't forget Chantilly was featured in one of the James Bond movies with Roger Moore (View to a Kill, I think)...perhaps you could rent it and fast forward to the Chantilly scenes. I was there many years ago and yes, it's beautiful. Its French opulence will make a nice contrast to the Flemish displays of wealth in Brugge...