This post is taken in the same place as my previous post, and specifically in the grounds of the castle of Chantilly. If you remember, I recently spent a day visiting the town of Chantilly, which is about 40 kms north of Paris (half an hour outside Paris by train), and I promised to share more information about the castle grounds, which are particularly beautiful and are said to have been  Le Nôtre’s favorite gardens.

A day out at Chantilly Castle

Chantilly castle

 Top – Project social (no longer available), culottes -Les Petites ( no longer available),  Jacket – Mango (several seasons ago,  similar in black here  , Boots – Maje (last season ), 

Chantilly Revisited – the gardens and the flower exhibition

Chantilly castle
Chantilly castle

Also, from the 19th to the 21st May 2017, one of the most renowned flower shows ‘les journées des plantes’ will take place in the English gardens at Chantilly. This event comprises over 200 exhibitors and an International Jury will award prizes to the most beautiful plants.

Read on for more details about this look, more photos as well as for some information about the castle grounds and more details of the upcoming flower show.

Chantilly castle

Chantilly Revisited – the gardens and the flower exhibition

Chantilly castle
Chantilly castle
Chantilly castle

 

Chantilly castle
Chantilly castle

 

So first, a little about the gardens at the “Château de Chantilly”,  which cover an overall surface area of 115 hectares!

The French-style garden was created by André Le Nôtre in the 17th century, the Anglo-Chinese Garden, which includes the small hamlet was added in the 18th century and the English Garden was added in the 19th century to replace the parts of the grounds destroyed during the French Revolution!

The French style gardens at Chantilly

These were designed at the end of the 17th century by André Le Nôtre, and are one of the few examples of a layout with an axis which is off centre in relation to the château. Of all the gardens designed by Le Nôtre, Chantilly, with its vast number of water features, was his favourite. It is undoubtedly one of the most stunning views of the visit and includes numerous flowerbeds, ponds, fountains and statues. 

The majority of the photos were taken in the French gardens.

The Anglo-Chinese garden

The Anglo-Chinese garden was designed in 1773 by the architect Jean-François Leroy and the Hamlet (made up of five small, rustic style houses) served as a model for Marie-Antoinette’s Hamlet in the Petit Trianon at Versailles.

The garden originally included a number of features relating to gastronomy, such as an orchard with fruit trees, a vine, orange trees and all the houses in the hamlet were bordered by small vegetable gardens, fruit bushes and flower gardens.

The modest exterior of the five small houses contrasts with the more sumptuous interior decor and Le Hameau restaurant serves lunch and afternoon tea every day from early March to mid-November.

The English Garden

The English garden is located between the Château and the Great Stables, and it was designed during the Restoration of 1819 by the architect Victor Dubois for Prince Louis-Joseph de Bourbon Condé on the remains of part of André Le Nôtre’s gardens that were destroyed during the Revolution.

Contrary to the French-style garden, with its geometric layout and ornate perspectives, the English garden draws its inspiration from the wilderness of nature and has a great selection of plants and trees that have been imported from England and planted here to represent a piece of the English countryside.

Chantilly castle

The temple of Venus,  inspired by the Greco-Roman temples, houses a copy of the famous antique statue of Venus, the goddess of Love and Beauty and can be found in the English Garden. 

The 2017 Flower Show

From May 19th to 21st 2017, the Chantilly Flower Show will take place in the English Gardens. There will be over 200 exhibitors as well as workshops on specific subjects from orchids to perennials. The theme for spring 2017 is Technicolour gardens, so I’m expecting that the event will be very colourful!

The exhibitors come from from all over France, and some other European countries, such as Britain, Holland and Belgium, and prizes for the best plants are awarded by an international jury.  

The Admission ticket includes access to the “Flower Show” for the day of your choice between 19 and 21 May, access to the conferences, an open visit of the domain (castle, grounds and stables) as well as access to other exhibitions on the site. 

For more information, visit the site of the Chantilly Flower Show.

However, if you fancy something more energetic, then you can sign up for the triathlon in August 2017 – see here!

Ruffles

 

Chantilly castle
chantilly castle
Chantilly castle
Chantilly castle

Now, for my outfit.

The cream tee is from Project Social, the culottes are from  Les Petites last season – sadly no longer available, but you might still find them on second hand sites),  the jacket is an old favorite from Mango (I bought it several seasons ago and can’t find another one – but I found similar in black here ). The boots are also last season from Maje.

I hope you enjoyed this feature about A day out in Chantilly and and have a look here for more of our travel features.