Chantilly Castle Round Two
I've been to Chantilly Castle many times and have written about it on Hive in the past. It was close to my home in France when we were living there so naturally we went to see it many times during our three year expat. Being so close to us also made it the perfect place to bring visitors that were staying with us, like my sister who came to see us in the summer of 2022.
Before our visit we parked our car and walked over to the castle, passing by a garden of lush hydrangeas and a walkway of carefully trimmed trees.
We approached the castle from the Royal Stable side with the large Hypodrome Horse Racing track on the right hand side.
When coming from that direction the castle just suddenly reveals itself through the trees, which makes for a pretty dramatic sight to behold.
The castle is completely surrounded by water except for a few bridges and walkways that span the moat.
We spent some time walking the castles perimeter before heading inside.
This was my sister's first castle visit and I remember how awe inspiring these historical man-made wonders can be the first time you lay eyes on them.
I can't say for certain that she was awe inspired but Chantilly Castle really is a beautiful work of architecture.
There are just so many details all around to look at and admire. It hard not to be impressed by it.
Like this horse statue located outside the front entrance.
My pal grindle once told me that one raised hoof on a horse statue means that the rider was injured in battle - interesting fact.
There are all kinds of bronze and stone statues located around the building.
Okay, lets head through the gate and see the inner courtyard.
Just off to the left hand side of the entrance is the castles church.
Oftentimes castles would have their own dedicated church where palace residents would gather for mass along with other invited nobles.
We are inside now, in case you couldn't tell. I really liked the hallway leading up to the church building.
It had some nice woodwork accents that I found to be quite timeless in their craftmanship.
The library was of course another favorite spot within the castle.
This visit was extra special too because there happened to be a group of nuns touring the library looking at the old historic texts in there. It almost seemed staged to me, as if they were hired actors or something, but I'm pretty sure they were just a group of nuns on an outing, having their own little adventure.
The dining room was neat too with its table settings and tapestries on the walls.
And here is a room with a view of the gardens.
The castle is basically a giant art museum as well, with probably hundreds (if not thousands) of paintings, art pieces and different artifacts depicting the history of France.
Lots of nudes, lots of religious stuff of course.
This next one is a bit graphic. It may not be of a specific event but no doubt depicts true occurances of history.
I think this next one might be of Snow White and the seven dwarves but I can't be certain. Perhaps Doc, Sleepy and Grumpy?
This guy looks a little cartoonish but I like him.
A nice dress here. Just the right amount of flare, not over the top at all.
This visit was the first time that I had ever walked the grounds.
The previous times we had been were during the winter months, so the trees and gardens had been pretty bare at the time so we never bothered to walk through. This time everything was in full bloom though.
The grounds were quite large and the gardens were made up in sections, consisting of a French tailored portion and a park style English garden.
The section that we walked through was the English style garden - more like a park.
It was a more natural setting with ponds and streams and naturally growing vegetation,
with a few statues and structures thrown in here and there to keep things interesting.
We also saw some horses in pastures, which I always nice to see. Furry friends!
All in all it was a good day and a good start to my sisters first visit to France.
pretty ok.............lol
Haha yes exactly 💯 🤣
LOL, it does look a great big old pile to visit, I think though, if I were the head gardener I would have planted a blue hydrangea to break up the colour.
Yeah that would have been a good strategy.
My wife would have appreciated that. She likes the blue hydrangeas
Interesting fact No 2, you may already have this stored.
Hydrangeas are only blue on acidic soil they turn pink on alkaline soils. White hydrangeas never change colour.
now where is that pub quiz?
That is super interesting. I didn't know that. Thanks for the trivia tip
I am told I am a mine of useless information. not sure if that is a badge of honour or a backhanded compliment.
Badge of honor in my opinion
that'll do
@grindle White hydrangeas actually do not turn pink or blue, but stay white as their color is not affected by the alkalinity. When I got my first hydrangea, I tried in vain to change it to blue. LOL
They just like to play with our heads!
I remember the first hydrangea I planted years ago. People were all over it telling me about the alkalinity, but, nobody mentioned my white hydrangea was going to be a stinker and never change. Ha! I tried for a few years to change it! LOL
White will never be anything by white, the rest is fun to play with.
Hmm that's interesting. Too bad you didn't know until after. You could have saved yourself the time and disappointment lol. I prefer the white ones myself, so I would be happy.
I was 22 and wanted color!! Now, i like the understated white, so lovely.
a trick my dad taught me many years ago is to bury a handful of copper pennies with the roots to force a change of red/blue colour. It actually worked
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Amazing all photos looks really wonderfull those historical places.
Thanks. I'm glad you liked them 😁
I wanna add you on discord can you send me please your discord username?
I barely use Discord
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That is one beautiful, impressive castle! The grounds and the insides, I'm astonished and wowed! It's obviously well-maintained too. It's a must-see indeed ❤️
Yeah the castle is quite impressive. It's one of my favorites that I've been to in Europe.
I believe so, even by just looking through your photos. ❤️
The place look insane! What a library! So jealous you get to see all those painted callings and stuff :) Thank you for sharing!
The library was something special. Old libraries like that are amazing.
Impressive! All the photos are amazing, and you captured a fantastic one which shows the hedge nicely. I've never seen a castle like that surrounded by water.
Yeah, not at all... Just minimalist!😆
This is a castle with a difference. I bet your sister was dazzled:)
Yeah I love a castle with a moat. Not all of them have one. They are pretty cool when they do though.
Yeah it's a very minimalist dress indeed haha 😆
Wow, so many amazing pictures, I don't know which one to stay and look at more, you have turned this castle surrounded by water into a place that draws you to visit.
I'm glad you enjoyed the photos 😁👍
They are very beautiful, and when you put your heart into creating a blog everything will look perfect.
😄
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The place is very stunning. A lot of beautiful flowers could be seen from outside the place which made it eye catchy to the visitors. Wow, the library is amazing. Thank you for taking a tour of the beautiful Chantilly Castle.
Yeah flowers really add a lot to any place.
The library was very cool. It was one of my favorite parts
Incredible!! The details of that castle are just fantastic! The library is too, probably my favorite part of the castle.
The hydrangeas are beautiful too!
Those nuns really looked like hired actors as you said. 😅
My friend said the same thing to me last winter when we went to Sendai Castle. 😅
It's nice that someone can give us trivia like this. I'm pretty sure we don't have the same friend though. 😁
Yeah the library with the nuns was pretty cool that day. Not something I would see very often thats for sure.
I like little bits of trivia like that. 👍
😍beautiful
Thanks 👍 😊
Beautiful place, and it looks it wasn't too busy when you visited. The structure of the castle is indeed impressive. I would probably take a picture of each angle 🙂
My dream is to have such library at home. It is never going to happen though but a girl can dream 🙂
Oh, and for some reason I thought you were French.. now I understand that you spend time there as an expat..
Thank you for sharing!
Yeah we are Canadian and did a three year expat in France. We moved back to Canada in September of 2022 but I still have a lot of trip photos of our time there that I'm working through. It's a bit confusing for people I'm sure because I jump back and forth between Canada and Europe.
Great work. Congratulations.
Thank you 😊
Waooo. Wonderful place
It really is 😁
Amazing place! Hahaha I am glad you clarified about the group of nuns, because I had questions.
My first thought is that they were wax statues to bring some extra realism, then my second thought was that they were a group of nuns.
Well done for the lovely pics!
I think wax statues of nuns would have the opposite effect for tourists and be creepy as hell 😳 😬 😅 😂
Though I have seen mannequin's dressed up like Sleeping Beauty characters in a French castle haha
Maybe like a horror castle? I would pay for this lol
Why am I not surprised by this? I am sure it was the kitschiest thing to witness.
Yeah a horror castle would be a pretty cool idea. Make it a haunted house or an Escape room game. That would do well I'm sure.
The Sleeping Beauty stuff was super kitschy
Wow. No lie! You give some of the best backgrounds in your posts. What is not to love on this visit? I love moats on castles, they just fit the scenario of what every good castle needs.
What a breathtaking view and the perfect line in the landscape is amazing. The horses, the park...
Le sigh.
The interior was on a grand scale and the nuns? Well, expect the unexpected, yes? Nice touch and glad they were real because that would just be more than creepy. But, the library itself wows me. The entire interior. The dining room! Don't nudes just go with the period? It just wouldn't be right to have them nonexistent. The horrible fate of an unwanted is more graphic than I would keep in my collection, but they had no camera. You know some twit would photograph it today.
The fountain with the moss hanging off it as the water passes through. OH!
The park was so charming, with the statues under cover. I thought they were rotundas, but, it's Europe, so gazebo? Adds a certain grace and charm to it.
I am not sure how anyone cannot be taken by this. I am sure you blew your sister's mind. She might not have shown it, but, you are not human if it doesn't impress you. I can remember the first time I saw a castle. I think I still feel almost 95% that way when I see another. I hope I always do.
Thanks for taking us along.
The site of the Battle of Gettysburg is now the Gettysburg Cemetery (Civil War era) They have so many statues there, it is amazing. I had always heard the very same thing about the statues of horses and riders. There are a lot of statutes that make that statement.
true, but there are at least nine statutes that don't. Not sure what to make of that?
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Yeah it's a cool castle. Very memorable with great art work inside. The nudes definitely go with the era and decor.
Yeah the park was quite nice. Not the best garden that we've seen but definitely enjoyable nonetheless.
Maybe not all sculpturs know the leg rule for horses lol 😆
Wow. No lie! You give some of the best backgrounds in your posts. What is not to love on this visit? I love moats on castles, they just fit the scenario of what every good castle needs.
What a breathtaking view and the perfect line in the landscape is amazing. The horses, the park...
Le sigh.
The interior was on a grand scale and the nuns? Well, expect the unexpected, yes? Nice touch and glad they were real because that would just be more than creepy. But, the library itself wows me. The entire interior. The dining room! Don't nudes just go with the period? It just wouldn't be right to have them nonexistent. The horrible fate of an unwanted is more graphic than I would keep in my collection, but they had no camera. You know some twit would photograph it today.
The fountain with the moss hanging off it as the water passes through. OH!
The park was so charming, with the statues under cover. I thought they were rotundas, but, it's Europe, so gazebo? Adds a certain grace and charm to it.
I am not sure how anyone cannot be taken by this. I am sure you blew your sister's mind. She might not have shown it, but, you are not human if it doesn't impress you. I can remember the first time I saw a castle. I think I still feel almost 95% that way when I see another. I hope I always do.
Thanks for taking us along.
The site of the Battle of Gettysburg is now the Gettysburg Cemetery (Civil War era) They have so many statues there, it is amazing. I had always heard the very same thing about the statues of horses and riders. There are a lot of statutes that make that statement.
true, but there are at least nine statutes that don't. Not sure what to make of that?
!LUV
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NFT | <>< daily
Your photographs made me think that in the age of manual labor, even houses were individuals.
These beautiful stucco decorations, which were touched by the hand of the master, definitely absorbed a part of his soul and mood.
With what attention and awe people carried even to the outer wall of the house, not to mention the inner content!
And the library! She looks amazing!
The castle was definitely a work of art in more ways than one
I believe each stone of this castle have is own story, which one can find out just by stopping by and being attentive...