"The town of Chantilly is pretty quiet. There are fewer tourists, and the main attraction is the Chateau, which isn’t nearly as blingy as Versailles (though, truly, nothing is). The train doesn’t take longer than a half hour, so if you leave Paris early enough, you can have lunch at La Régalade after touring the Chateau and its enormous gardens and forest. The food is classic French, so expect a seasonal menu that’s heavy on beef, seafood, and cheese, plus natural wines by the glass. The last lunch seating is at 1:30pm and it reopens for dinner an hour after the Chateau closes, which gives you time to have a glass of Sancerre at La Belle Époque while you wait." - sophie friedman