Chantilly Castle Part 1 - The Chateaus and gardens

The end of our river cruise was getting very near when our river ship reached the medieval town of Conflans, so named because it is at the confluence of two rivers - the Seine and the Oise rivers. 

This is a town known for all the river barges berthed along the banks of the Seine river. After going up and down this river on barges all their lives, many river men cannot settle on land, so simply live on their now retired barges.

But we did not explore the town. Some passengers chose to travel to Auvers-sur-Oise to see Vincent van Gogh’s room and learn about the life and tragic death of this famous artist. The rest of us chose to visit Chateau de Chantilly (or Chantilly Castle). I am so glad I did, as apart from all of its other interesting features, it is claimed to have one of the best collections of art in France. This turned out to be very fortuitous for me, given I was too unwell to visit Le Louvre and other art galleries when back in Paris.

There are actually two chateaus on site, the Petit Chateau and the Grand Chateau, which are both built in Renaissance style and are joined. The story behind them is very interesting. The first mansion on the site was built by the Montmorency family in 1528-1531. The Petit Chateau was built about 30 years later. The first mansion was then destroyed during the French revolution and eventually replaced by the present Grand Chateau.

Around the palaces there is a moat and a French formal garden as well as a large French landscape garden. The estate is next to the Chantilly racecourse and has very valuable stables, known as the Great Stables, which house a large number of horses. The reason for the stables being so beautifully designed and built, though we did not have time to see them ourselves, was that one of the later owners of the estate, who had the stables built, believed he would be reincarnated as a horse! 

When you look at the photos, those of you who are James Bond fans might recognise the Grand Chateau as the castle featured in the 1985 movie “A View to a Kill’, the last Bond movie starring Roger Moore. In the movie, the castle is the home of the villain Max Zorin.

In this post I have included photos of the chateaus and gardens, as well as a couple of early morning views along the Seine river as we reached Conflans. In the next two posts you will see photos taken inside the two chateaus. 

Two house-barges along the Seine river near Conflans on perfectly still river. 

Just a bit further along the river.

Drawing into Conflans.

At the entrance to the two chateaus. The Petit Chateau is the small chateau on the left; the Grand Chateau is behind it with the spire. It goes right the way back behind the Petit Chateau. 

There were statues of lions on the walls of the moat.

One of the owners must have loved dogs because there were superb sculptures of dogs both outside and inside the Grand Chateau.

The front corner of the Grand Chateau. The moat is in front of it and the French landscape gardens in the distance behind it. 

This large statue stood guard over the two chateaus. 

The use of lions and a crown over the gate showed the presence of royalty. 

Two sphinxes showing an Egyptian influence.

The French formal garden viewed from an upper room inside the Grand Chateau.

Part of the French formal garden viewed from outside a back door.

View of the back of the Grand Chateau from the French formal garden.