Musée Condé

Exceptional museum in a spectacular palace, surrounded by moats and water. The collections are extensive and remarkable. We couldn’t have been more surprised and delighted. Definitely worth a visit only a half an hour from Paris by train. And don’t forget to have Chantilly cream when you’re there. Impressive current exhibit of manuscripts.

A must go if you love Chantilly creme. Also, they have one of the largest art collections outside of Paris. It's a dream to be there. Don't forget to eat in the gardens where they have ducks and geese roaming around. Truly delightful.

Chantilly is a nice place for a weekend activity. You can walk in beautiful nature and you can visit Musée Condé.

Primarily French artists. I found the carvings related to hunting the most interesting and found it interesting what the Duke would put on the dinner table in front of his guests.

Expensive ! But must go at least once :) !great collections and big and well maintained garden and forest 🌳

This museum contains outstanding pieces of art, great place to visit

Musée Condé is located inside the Château de Chantilly. This is one of the most spectacular and impressive art galleries I've visited in France! Not only its amazing collection of old master paintings but of its impressive collection of drawings and a library filled with thousands of manuscripts, some of which are illuminated! This is like "killing two birds with one stone" experience; to explore the Château and the Musée Condé at the same time! The art gallery is one of the largest in France. Rich in history, started by Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale and the son of the last king of France, Louis Philippe I. It was opened in 1898. My favourite, The Hall of Honour. Absolutely worth visiting!

Musee Conde is in the main castle of Chantilly. The collection is rather limited, and can't be compared with the breadth of Louvre's collection. The entrance fee is 17 euros which I think is too high.

this historic estate was owned by the same family for 500 years until the death in 1897 of it's last occupant, Duc d'Aumale - son of King Louis Philippe - who bequeathed Chantilly to the state with the caveat that it remain open to the public. in it's long history, the Château has hosted notables of the era (and the wedding of Brazilian football star Ronaldo in 2005). the main attraction is the art collection in the Musée Condé, considered one of the finest in France (after the Louvre). also of interest are the gardens, private apartments, library and state rooms. located within the estate is the Hippodrome de Chantilly which hosts the Prix du Jockey Club in June, first run in 1836. also home to le Polo Club. Chantilly is an easy 45 min. drive from Paris but there are semi-regular trains you can take from Gare Saint-Lazare. upon reaching town, take the free shutlle bus to the estate. an alternative is a 20 min. walk through the woods on marked trails(which i did once). before leaving, stop in at La Capitainerie, the Château restaurant for some fruit, ice cream or patisserie topped with crème Chantilly, first served here by the "Maître d'hôtel" Vatel in 1671 for a banquet in honor of Louise XIV (actually saw this in the movie "Vatel" played by Gérard Depardieu). the perfectionist Vatel committed suicide before the banquet because the fish to be served had not been delivered. it apparently arrived after he impaled himself on his sword. what a (true)story.

I don't think I can top Mike G.'s review! So just a few tidbits: - Easy trip from Paris - Try to get there early so that you can be one of the first to enter before it gets jam-packed with tour groups - We found the audioguide very informative - The restaurant situated in the former kitchen of the chateau - La Capitainerie - will get as crowded as the rest of the chateau. If you're clever (we weren't in this regard) you'll head to lunch early or at least go down and make a reservation or put in your name for a certain time. I think you can do this. All I know is we had to put our name, wait ~30 minutes (we walked around the gardens), come back, wait some more and eventually get seated. Lots of people gave up, but I was determined to eat in the fancy dining room and try some of the chantilly cream. I have to admit, the food was quite good (better than I'd read) once we were able to finally get a seat. My wife ordered the ribeye and got an ENORMOUS steak. (She distinctly ordered the 'petite' steak, but we received (and were charged for) the 'grand' one. The waitstaff reduced the charge without any problem when I pointed out the mistake, but just be prepared to check your bill before paying.) - The chateau has a wonderful art collection (Musée Condé), marvelous library, great architecture/decor and an incredible series of stained glass windows. - There is a separate stables and horse show. The 'stables' are so enormous and impressive that when you first see them (as you walk from the station) you may think you've already reached the chateau!! Apparently, the prince who lived in the chateau (Prince Conde) thought he would come back in his next life as a horse, so he asked his architect to design a palace for horses!! (I believe it was this sort of thing - palaces for horses, no food for the peasants - that led to a little phenomenon known as the French Revolution.) You have to pay separately to see the stables and horse show. Since we'd already seen a similar show in Vienna on another trip, we decided to skip the horses and focus on the chateau. - The gardens? Not my cup of tea. I tend to find enormous stretches of grass and ponds to be more exhausting than inspiring. Had the same problem at Versailles. Some people love it, I guess. Clearly the garden designers of the time thought it was the cat's meow. If you like chateaus, this is a nice one and very easy to visit from Paris. A quick train ride, pleasant 20 minute walk from the station and a full day visiting a palace and having a nice lunch. Not bad at all!