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.