Chantilly Castle Part 2 - Inside the castle

Having seen the gardens and buildings in the outside, I was really interested to look inside the Petit Chateau and the Grand Chateau. What would they be like?  Would there be drapes made of Chantilly lace, for example? 

There was no chantilly lace, not even in the shop. (There is always a shop!)  The Grand Chateau, which we visited first, was a very elegant building, but it could not be described as ornate. The Petit Chateau was very ornate, however, and reminded me of some of the rooms in the Russian palaces, though the rooms were quite small. But of course the Petit Chateau was built earlier than the present Grand Chateau, in a different period when gilding was very much in vogue.

We did hear one sad story associated with the castle. Apparently at one stage King Louis XIV stayed at the castle, and a sumptuous banquet was ordered to honour him. The maitre d’ ended up in a dreadful state because he feared that the course of fish would not be ready in time. He was so distraught he went up to his room and killed himself. What a sad reflection on the demands made by the aristocrats of the period that was.

It was a hot day, and I must confess I thought how lovely it would be to have a coffee with a little dab of chantilly cream in it. It was very disappointing that no-one has had the initiative to set that up. The shop sold some nice souvenirs, but in my view was missing a golden opportunity by not setting up a little cafe, even though they don’t get the crowds of visitors that the Palace of Versailles apparently has. 

As mentioned in my previous post, Chantilly Castle, which now belongs to the State, houses some wonderful works of art. I will show some of them in my next post. 

The ceiling above the main staircase up to the chapel in the Grand Chateau. 

The top of the staircase.

One of the stained glass windows in the chapel of the Grand Chateau.

More of the chapel.

The chapel has some beautifully crafted wooden panelling. 

More of the chapel.

Behind the altar in the main chapel was another chapel.

Some of the displays in one of the rooms.

The long library housed thousands of books an has special manuscripts on display.  In the photo is the upper level of the library.

This and the following photos were taken in the Petit Chateau.