The dreamy asymmetrical figure of the château emerges from behind the quaint houses of the town square in Chantilly, and we are transported into a fairy tale kingdom of moats and castles and unhappy princesses. Home to the Montmorency family in the 17th century, the walls of the castle and the statues on its grounds echo the stories of ball gowns that took hours to put on, of dinners and hunting parties; of visits by the king ending in the unfortunate suicide of the anxiety-ridden maître d'hotel under threat of the late arrival of the fish; of how the pomposity of architecture for the rich bored the owners to the point of creating a decorative 'hamlet' in the park to capture the 'simplicity' of rural life.
Most of the stories are lost, but the château remains, in all its intricate splendour, for travellers to walk through, admire, and imagine as it was 400 years ago.
Most of the stories are lost, but the château remains, in all its intricate splendour, for travellers to walk through, admire, and imagine as it was 400 years ago.