The Domaine de Chantilly is one of the most enjoyable day trips north of Paris. The estate was the home of Henri d’Orléans, the Duke of Aumale, who amassed one of France’s greatest collections of precious books, paintings and decorative arts. Today, as well as admiring the château’s galleries, you can visit the impressive suites, stroll the gardens and stop by the stables, which are now an equestrian museum. The chateaux is a fairytale-like beauty, and you’ve got to see it to believe it, complete with drawbridges, moats and gold-leaf-adorned state rooms.
How far is Chantilly, France from Paris?
It’s quick and simple to get to Chantilly from Paris, and you can do the whole thing in just over half an hour. To get there, take a TER train from Gare du Nord and get off at Chantilly-Gouvieux. The journey takes around 25 minutes. You can also take the RER D, which is a bit slower. Once there, the château is a 20-minute walk or a 5-minute ride by shuttle or bus.
What is there to do at Chantilly?
Despite the Chantilly estate’s wealth of activities to detain the curious day-tripper, it’s the staggering riches of the Musée Condé that will draw most people there in the first place. Housed in the Château de Chantilly, the ornate centrepiece of the Domaine, the museum is home to one of the finest collections of (predominantly French and Italian) paintings in France after the Louvre – all thanks to the bequest of the Duke of Aumale, the last private owner of the castle.
At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.