Today, I am pleased to have a guest blogger for my post: my daughter Dr. Kalie Lowrie. Kalie is a world traveler and we recently celebrated her birthday in Paris! Kalie is an Assistant Vice President of Alumni Relations at Howard Payne University and also teaches in the Communications department.

In her blog, Kalie gives a review and detailed account of traveling to Chateau Chantilly and Senlis by train and bus from Paris.

Journey to Chantilly and Senlis, a short day-trip

My parents invited me to join them on a trip to Paris for my birthday a few weeks ago and it was magical. We had such a wonderful time together exploring all the sights and soaking up the French culture. A week in Paris might seem like a long time to some people, but there is truly so much to see and do in the City of Lights that I could have used even more time. We bought a 4-day museum pass for about 70€ and there were so many great places to explore. We visited nine stops on the pass within the four days and one of my favorite places was a day trip out to the Chateau Chantilly and Senlis. I love to explore new places and this was a fun, inexpensive day-trip we all really enjoyed.

On previous trips, I had the opportunity to visit Versailles and Fontainebleau. Both are beautiful palaces and I recommend visiting them if you have not had the opportunity. I read that Chantilly was another beautiful palace that was not visited as frequently, so the crowds would be lighter, but the grounds and the palace would be worthwhile. 

Chantilly

I read that Chantilly was just 20 minutes outside of Paris, so originally we thought we could do this in half a day. However, it takes a little more time and I would recommend taking a full day to really make the most of the trip. We had to get to Gare du Nord for the train (which was about 30 minutes by Metro from our AirBNB) and then we took a 20-minute train ride from there to Chantilly. It was about an hour total for transportation. The cost was only 8.70€ per person each way on the train, which was great. 

When we arrived at Chantilly Gouvieux station, there were two options. We could take a bus to the chateau, which was a 15-minute ride, or we could take a 25-minute walk. We opted for the walk because we saw the sign for that sooner and it was a pretty fall morning. The walk was really beautiful through some woods and then an open pasture. We passed by Chantilly Racecourse (horse race tracks) and the horse stables connected to the Chantilly Chateau. The gates to the chateau opened at 10 a.m. We arrived shortly after, so we were able to go right in and start the tour.

The chateau was the work of Henri d’Orléans, Duke of Aumale, son of the last King of France, Louis-Philippe. It was shaped by several owners back from the Middle Ages to the 19th Century. The duke left the chateau to the Institut de France which has allowed for its preservation. Henri was a great collector and that is probably the most notable thing about this palace – all of the amazing artwork, statues, and books. One of the museum guides mentioned to us that this is one of the greatest art collections in all of France.

While I was not familiar with any of the pieces of art in particular, I had heard of many of the artists – including Rembrandt, de la Criox, and Poussin. There is also a stunning library, housing works all the way back to 983 A.D. Unique brown stained glass is visible in one part of the castle and even the floor is ornate, with flowers and designs displayed throughout the halls. You can view several areas of the castle, including large suites, an art gallery, and the Reading Room.

The castle grounds are also worth walking around and exploring. Three sides of the castle are surrounded by water and then the back opens to a large area with woods and beautifully manicured grounds. 

We spent about 1.5 hours at the castle and then walked back into Chantilly. We grabbed lunch at a cute bakery called Boulangerie du Château. My mom had a croque monsieur, which she says was the best of her life, I had quiche and my dad got a ham and cheese sandwich on a baguette. The real treat was the chantilly cream puff. I’ve heard of chantilly cream, but this was my first taste of it and it did not disappoint. It was sweet, light, and delicious. I would go back just for another one of those cream puffs!

Senlis

We waited outside of the Catholic Church (Église Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption de Chantilly) and caught a bus (645) to Senlis. It was only 1€ per person to ride the bus and the ride was about 25 minutes to get into Senlis. We were not sure where to get off, so I put the “Notre Dame Cathedral in Senlis” into my phone’s maps and pressed the button on the bus to get off when we were close. It turns out the final stop for the bus is only about an 8-minute walk to the center of the city. So you can do whichever is easier for you. There is a great Visitor’s Center right in the middle of the town which has maps with guided walks. This was helpful to know more of the history of the town and helped us get around. 

The reason we wanted to go to Senlis is because I found some blogs that mentioned it was a town full of French history. There are 3rd-century walls built by the Gallo-Romans that surround the city. The first king of France, Hugh Capet, was coronated there in 987 and the site still remains. There is an amazing cathedral, built in the 11th Century, that still remains in the center of the town. There was also a Roman amphitheater, that once held 10,000 people, which ruins are still visible. 

We enjoyed our walk around Senlis and found a cute tea shop where we stopped in for tea and coffee for a few minutes. We were there on a Friday and a local market was just being taken down from some of the main streets. It smelled like fish, so we assumed it was a produce and meat market, similar to the one that was in our neighborhood in Paris that morning. The roads were cobblestone and many of the historic buildings remained on the main streets. We enjoyed a couple of hours in exploring around before we hopped back on a 645 bus (the last one of the day, so be sure to catch the 4:05 p.m. bus, if not an earlier one) back to the Chantilly train station. 

Overall, our day trip to Chantilly and Senlis was wonderful. It was a peaceful, non-rushed day that provided a nice respite from the busy streets of Paris. The scenery was beautiful and the history was rich. If you are looking for a unique experience beyond Paris, I would highly recommend it!