This Enchanting Castle In Europe Feels Like Stepping Into A Storybook

It's hard to imagine the magnificent Château de Chantilly as the pile of rocks it once was, sitting upon miles of dreary, uninviting marshland on the road north from Paris. One of the must-see castles on your next visit to France, it's everything you dreamed about as you turned the pages of fairy tales as a child. A feast for the eyes, the castle is made up of two buildings: the Grand Château and Petit Château, both surrounded by an impressive moat. And like most French castles, Chantilly has its fair share of mystery and romance woven into the thick stone walls of its elegant Renaissance-style architecture, which was partly destroyed during the French Revolution.

The castle that stands today was the work of Henri d'Orléans, Duc d'Aumale, and the son of the last king of France, who had it rebuilt in 1875 to house his precious collection of books, paintings, and decorative art. His collection remains unchanged, exactly how he wished, and as you take a tour of the Château de Chantilly today, you are stepping into the same world visitors discovered more than a century ago. Chantilly makes an excellent day trip from Paris and is situated just over 30 miles from the capital. Taking the train is the easiest and quickest way to get there, and if you take the Pack TER Chantilly ticket leaving from the Gare du Nord for $31, it will give you access to the château as well as the train. Otherwise, tickets to the chateau cost $21 and include access to the enormous grounds and world-famous stables.

With so many wonderful collections to feast your eyes upon, it's difficult to know where to begin, but if you take a full day to wander around Chantilly, you'll manage to fit everything in, even at a leisurely pace. With the second largest collection of antique paintings in France, the art galleries — known as the Condé Museum — are an excellent place to start your visit. Plus, this museum is far less crowded than the Musée du Louvre, which houses the largest collection. Masterpieces by Raphael, Botticelli, and Titian line the gallery walls. But it's not just paintings that adorn the majestic rooms; there are richly embellished 16th- and 17th-century tapestries showing hunting scenes, as well as a collection of intricate stained-glass windows depicting the story of Psyche.

As you make your way through the chateau, you'll pass through a series of lavish suites and rooms, full of decorative art and ornate furniture. The private suites of the Duke and Duchess are particularly interesting, and to see them in all their glorious regal technicolor, you can book a private tour for an extra $8. Best brush up on your French, though, as these are only available in the native tongue. Before you head outside to the equally magnificent grounds, take a moment to visit the library, or Reading Room, where 19,000 volumes are packed onto two levels of elegant bookshelves. Unsurprisingly, it was one of the Duke's favorite rooms, where he must have spent many an hour surrounded by his collection of ancient books and rare medieval manuscripts, some of which date back to the 10th century.

The castle sits on more than 280 acres just waiting to be explored. The water theme continues in the 17th-century French-style garden made up of symmetrical ponds, fountains, and flowerbeds, and it even has a 1.5-mile-long canal. Equally as impressive as the gardens of Versailles, Chantilly was a favorite with its designer, André Le Nôtre. The 18th-century Anglo-Chinese Garden and the 19th-century English Garden may not match the size of their French counterpart but are ideal for a romantic stroll to the Island of Love and the Temple of Venus. If this all sounds like too much for your legs to cope with, you can hire electric carts, bicycles, rowing boats, or hop aboard the mini train that loops its way around the estate.

In a town known as the Equestrian Capital of France, horse lovers won't want to miss a visit to the Great Stables. Equally as impressive as the château itself, this palace for around 240 horses even has its own Living Museum of the Horse, which explores the relationship between humans and horses throughout history. If you time your visit right, you could treat yourself to a day at the world-famous Chantilly racecourse, which sits right next to the castle. Film fans may recognize the stables, as they were featured in the James Bond film "A View to a Kill" (1985) and more recently "The Gray Man" (2021). And you simply can't leave without sampling Chantilly's other legendary treat: whipped cream. A staple of many a French patisserie, you can learn to whip it in style at one of the château's workshops.