Chantilly Attractions

The little town of Chantilly (pop. 10,902), famed for its racecourse and black pillow lace, lies on N 16, a little way west of Senlis. The château and its park are a popular destination for excursions from Paris.

Chantilly takes its name from a Roman named Cantilius who built a villa on the island here. In the Middle Ages the site of the villa was occupied by a castle which passed by marriage into the hands of the Montmorency family. At the beginning of the 16th C the castle was rebuilt by Pierre Chambiges in Renaissance style. During the 17th and 18th centuries Chantilly was the residence of the Condé family, a collateral branch of the royal House of Bourbon. Here the famous chef Vatel served Louis XIV for the first time with whipped cream, thereafter known as crème Chantilly.

During the French Revolution the Grand Château was almost completely destroyed, but the Petit Château survived almost unscathed. The Grand Château was rebuilt in Renaissance style by Daumet in 1875-81 for the Duc d'Aumale, fifth son of King Louis-Philippe. Dying without heirs in 1886, he bequeathed the property, with its art treasures and valuable library, to the Institut de France.