Hello Everyone! We are making a trip to Paris & Southern England, starting in Paris & ending in London. I know the easiest thing would be to fly out of London but we are seriously considering doing round trip from Seattle to Paris. We were thinking it might give us one last bite of France. Anyone been to Chateau de Chantilly Castle or somewhere else in the area you enjoyed?
Posted by
Provo, UT
175 posts
We really enjoyed visiting Chantilly! It was a real highlight for us and I wish we had spent more time in the town wandering around. For us, it was a great alternative to Versailles because it was far less crowded and it was covered by the Paris museum pass, which we had. Now, don't get me wrong: it's much different than Versaillesit's not as furnished as Versailles, though there are some, and lots of paintings, and there obviously aren't fountains, but I found the exterior architecture more interesting and the gardens, though different, were very nice, especially because we were all but alone. I think there were maybe 30 people touring the chateau while we were there? It was great. I don't recall it being close to CDG, though...it was a nice quick trip by train from Paris, which I guess is what you are looking for?
Posted by
Oak Park, Illinois
4535 posts
I like Chantilly. As the other poster says, it's not Versailles, but one of the best Chateaux not in the Loire Valley.
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
the Musee du Conde( which is inside the Chateau) at Chantilly is considered to have the second best collection of paintings of an era ,,second only to the Louvre.
The Royal Stables is across the street from the Chateau, and houses the Horse Museum, both worth seeing too. And of course, a walk in the gardens of Chantilly, to the little restaurnat that specializes in lovely Chantilly Cream,, with fresh strawberries, yum. I love Chantilly, it is actually not far from CDG but there is not fast easy tranportation link from there to there. So if fast and easy and getting quickly to the airport is your aim, then stay in Paris..
Posted by
OP
Auburn, WA USA
43 posts
Good advice thanks everyone! It seems like Chantilly is more of a day trip from Paris. What about Lille? We could take the EuroStar there from London and it is only an hourish train to CDG. Other postings I have seen have been mixed reviews... anyone been there recently?
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33845 posts
I have to go through Lille several times a year. The last time Lille came up somebody chipped in with good things about the town. I can't remember what they were. As far as I have been able to see, Lille is really good because... There are several Accor hotels there which means getting a room is reasonably easy and gives a base for the surrounding area, although we never explore the surrounding area. The patisserie chain Paul originated there. (this could be good or bad, depending on your POV) Charles de Gaulle was born there. There must be more. Let me think. Ah... it has a nice TGV/Eurostar station. No, actually it is pretty stark, cold and unpleasant. But it is nearly (like 50 metres) adjacent to a shopping mall. Oh, and there is a branch of the French burger chain, Quick, in the mall. And a branch of the French steakhouse, Hippopotamus, in Lille. And it is very close to Belgium. If I think of more I'll pop back.
Posted by
Provo, UT
175 posts
Stephanie, Chantilly can certainly be a day trip, but it's a quick ride from Paris. As Pat says, it's easily accessible from CDG and I'd guess an hour or so on the train (or less). We spent the morning in Chantilly and returned to Paris to see the Musee d'Orsay in the afternoon. I wouldn't write it off as too far.