Welcome back to the Velvet Runway and this post about Ruffles and Chantilly. 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). The town itself is very pretty but the jewel in it’s crown is without doubt the impressive castle, and of course Chantilly is also known for the whipped cream (said to have originally been served in a recipe at the château de Chantilly).

Ruffles

Ruffles and Chantilly

Ruffles

The castle grounds are particularly beautiful and are said to have been  Le Nôtre’s favorite gardens.

Read on for more details about this look and more photos from the castle grounds, as well as for some historical information about the castle.

 Ruffles and Chantilly

 

 

Ruffles

 

Ruffles
Ruffles
Ruffles
Ruffles
Ruffles

So first, a little about the “Château de Chantilly” , which is situated in the ‘Oise’ region of France, about 40 kms north of Paris.

Although the beginnings of the castle date back to the 14th century, its history is mostly related to Anne de Montmorency (16th century), who oversaw the renovation of the castle and the construction of the “petit château” and the small hamlet in the grounds. Louis de Bourbon, better known as the Great Conde (17th century) commissioned Andre Le Nôtre (Louis XIV’s chief gardener) to redesign the gardens and the castle now boasts three distinct gardens ( the French (le Nôtre’s) garden, the English garden and the Anglo-Chinese garden.)  

Henri Eugene Philippe Louis d’Orleans, the Duke of Aumale (19th century) oversaw the reconstruction of the castle (which was destroyed during the French Revolution) and added an impressive collection of works of art.

Being left without heirs, who died prematurely, the Duke of Aumale bequeathed the estate to the Institute of France in 1886 on condition that, on his death, the Condé museum be opened to the public and that its layout be preserved. According to his wishes, the Conde Museum was opened to the public in 1898 and is still open to the public today.

There will be another post coming soon from the gardens of the castle, 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!  More details and photos will follow in my next post!

Ruffles

 

Ruffles
Ruffles

Now, for my outfit.

The ruffles dress is from  Scotch & Soda ( similar here),  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 TopShop.

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