• Book a time slot online for weekends and school holidays: 1-day tickets are timed, and booking ahead is the only way to guarantee entry at peak times
• Equestrian shows cost extra and seats are limited, so buy show tickets ahead; the shorter riding demonstration comes with the 1-day ticket
• Train from Gare du Nord to Chantilly-Gouvieux takes 25 minutes, then a free bus or a 25-minute walk to the château

A château full of old-master paintings, three gardens and the Great Stables, built in the 1700s as a palace for horses, share one estate. Inside the stables, the Living Museum of the Horse fills 15 rooms, and a resident riding troupe performs under the great dome.

Kids can watch a narrated 30-minute riding demonstration, then run the paths of Le Nôtre's formal garden, the Anglo-Chinese garden and the English garden.