The Grandes Écuries, built between 1719 and 1740 to house 240 horses and 400-plus hounds, stand west of the château near Chantilly’s famous hippodrome (racecourse), inaugurated in 1834. The stables contain the Musée Vivant du Cheval, included in domain-only and domain and show passes; displays span riding equipment to rocking horses.
Visitors big and small will be mesmerised by the half-hour equestrian show included in the combined domain and show pass. One-hour shows take place from late March to October.
The stables’ pampered equines live in luxurious wooden stalls built by Louis-Henri de Bourbon, the seventh Prince de Condé, who was convinced he would be reincarnated as a horse (hence the extraordinary grandeur).