Grand Château

On an island on the east side of Chantilly is the Château, which consists of the Petit Château, built about 1560 for Connétable Anne de Montmorency, and the modern Grand Château (1876-1881).

The Grand Château has a well stocked picture gallery. The principal treasure of the library in the Petit Château is a magnificently illuminated prayerbook, the "Très Riches Heures" of the Duc de Berry (1410-1416). The park, mainly laid out by Le Nôtre, the little 17th C. hunting lodge known as the Maison de Silvie, the Jeu de Paume (Tennis Court) of 1757 and the Ecuries (Stables, designed by Jean Aubert), together with the Château itself and the surrounding forest, are the center of a fashionable and popular holiday area. The Ecuries now house a Musée Vivant du Cheval et du Pony, which covers everything to do with horses.

There is a very fine garden, including parterres of turf, pools of water with water jets. Further on is the English Garden with streams running their course through a small wood. A hamlet is found in the pleasant surroundings of the eastern part of the garden.