Journées des Plantes de Chantilly 2018

Last Saturday Jane came with me to see château de CHANTILLY for the first time (my 5th visit but there are always new discoveries).

It was JOURNÉES DES PLANTES weekend to boot. Have you been to Chantilly? A 20 minute train ride out of Paris on the Picardie line at Gare de Nord & so worth it!

Hundreds of top floral garden specialists show up to tempt you 🌸

My mother would have been enthralled with these garden 🪴 fetes. I used to touch her gardenia petals no matter how many times warned. My dad used to pay me a penny for every beetle 🪲 I collected off the rose bushes. Maybe I have a green pinkie after all.

My favorite citrus supplier was back from last year, OSCAR TINTORI of Pescia, Italy.

Gorgeous huge clay pots.

Whimsical clay pot 'plates' and 'cups' set à table on a mossy 'tablecloth'

Jane was eager to see Chantilly's fabulous collection of art, biggest next to the Louvre in France.

They used to let you enter via the grand stairway, but now they send you outside to climb up the original chateau entrance, in fact a better experience.

Very grand.

I always discover artworks I'd previously missed like all the Ingres paintings in the red room.

In the past I always turned left and missed the 90 Clouet portrait room.

Renaissance artists, François and Jean Clouet painted all the kings and queens of Europe, including Francois the 1st, Mary Queen of Scots and Catherine de Medici. The portraits are painted on wood with egg tempera, delicate and refined. There's a slew of 300 Clouet drawings hiding somewhere in the castle, yet to be discovered.

The view out the gallery windows of the Le Notre gardens is stunning. We would have loved to sketch on the balcony but not this time..

A captivating view back in the 1600s of Chantilly.

We happily parked ourselves outside to paint.

And eat our picnic lunch.

We were not alone. Many families were picnicing along the banks.

Bring your own eats. Food lines can be long and the wait daunting.

We were lucky 🍀 to have perfectly sunny weather and we had Chantilly mostly to ourselves till the royal wedding watchers arrived later on in droves. Ice cream may be a no-no but its impossible to resist fresh Chantilly whipped cream at its namesake, oui? TAKE A LOOK on Etsy for more Chantilly watercolors. 

Monet's Giverny gardens await tomorrow. 

Xxx Cheers PBers 🍦 

Journées des Plantes de Chantilly 2017

Every May Domaine de Chantilly celebrates Spring with a 3-day garden party, Journee des Plantes. I went two years ago. Its worth going every year.

Just a short 22-minute train ride from Paris, Chantilly is just as splendid as Versailles.

Next time I'll visit the horse museum. Hunting/la chasse is the theme of the chateau.

Blue skies with intermittent rain drops did not deter guests a bit

From visiting the over 200 garden stands. We both fell hard for this miniature conservatory. Perfect for painting or writing plus a few plantes if you must.

Smashing garden furniture too.

The French are crazy for British brand Barbour jackets. De riguer in the country always.

We both went crazy over these ornamental orange and lemon potted  trees from Oscar Tintori of Pescia, Italy.

Their lemon, bitter orange and bergamote marmalades were irresistable. 3 jars came back to Paris.

A sumptuous show of plants and flowers.

The chateau was open to all garden guests.

Chantilly's art collection is world famous.

A dreamy 2-story library including the rare Book of Hours manuscripts on display.

Serene gardens with large reflecting pools designed by Andre Le Notre seen from inside the chateau.

Chantilly makes for a wonderful day trip from Paris minus the crowds of Versailles. Do consider a visit.Thank you for reading Parisbreakfast.  If you'd like to receive Paris breakfast letters and maps in your mailbox, stop by my shop. Bon Week-end!

Journées des Plantes de Chantilly 2015

 Chantilly whipped cream on home-made(fait maison) melon ice cream can not be passed up on a gorgeously sunny day at Chateau de Chantilly 

Go to Gare du Nord. 

Then find the special train to Picardie. It will be upstairs in the main hall for the Grands Lignes. 

Do not bother with the RER - double the time & complicated.

Chantilly is the 2nd stop. It takes around 25 minutes (costs about 8,50 euros). There is a shuttle bus in the bus parking lot nearby. Follow the crowds.

Why didn't I buy this divine mouse pad with an overview of the chateau?

One can go for a quiet contemplative visit at Chantilly.

Or attend the 3-day huge gardening event, Les Journees des Plantes de Courson a Chantilly. For someone who does not have a 'Green thumb' I go to lots of gardening events in France. But they are spectacularly beautiful. Has anyone been to Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire Festival International des Jardins? I'm thinking of going..

I would love to paint these shaped hedges.

And I definitely need Champagne tables made from pitchforks too. Who doesn't?

Attendees were carting off loads of gorgeous plants. Love this event description: Pour perpétuer la passion du jardin et de la diversité végétale.

On inside the chateau surrounded by lakes.

I don't think I've visited since 2008.

The theme of Chantilly is La Chasse.

Décor is stunning.

The world famous art collection belonging to the Prince de Condes is nothing to sniff at either.

Just fabulous.

Crowded as the event was, there are still many rooms to explore in peace, You can easily imagine yourself a princess-in-residence at Chantilly.

Views out the windows are enthralling.

I went to Chantilly with Solli, who is one of these specks on the grounds. She wanted to find the 'hamlet' with animals and I went for the art.

A grand library.

Full of flower prints.

There were certainly plenty of peonies on offer in the tents.

You can see more of my chateau pictures on Flickr.

Chantilly info is here.

And you can still get a peony watercolor for your own on Etsy by subscribing.