Less than an hour’s drive from Paris is one of the most dazzling castles in France. It lives in a 19,275 acre forest and has had a long and distinguished history…
Like something in a story book, the Chateau is elegant and quite stunningly beautiful and if those walls could talk, they would certainly have stories to tell. King Henry VI (1553 – 1610) said of the Chateau of Chantilly that it was “the most beautiful house in France” and he may well be right.
Eight centuries of life, love and history have left their mark on the Chateau de Chantilly.
Royalty has shaped the destiny of this building since the Middle Ages but it suffered greatly during the French Revolution and one man above all others has ensured that today we too can enjoy the Chateau that is considered the second most important museum in France after the Louvre in Paris.
The Duke d’Aumale was the fifth son of Louis Philippe of Orleans, the “Citizen King” and last King of France. Banished by Napoleon III he secretly organised for the Chateau de Chantilly to be bought and held for him, pending his longed for return to France. In 1871, he finally returned to Chantilly and set about spending a fortune restoring the castle, albeit with a few mod cons such as heating, gas lighting and hot running water!