The story of this place
The Château de Chantilly, seat of the princely house of Condé, is one of France's grandest estates, ringed by water and set in gardens by Le Nôtre. In 1671 the great chef François Vatel, master of ceremonies for a feast the prince gave for Louis XIV and 2,000 guests, was so distraught when the fish delivery seemed to fail that he ran himself through with his sword—a suicide that became legend, and gave whipped Chantilly cream its aura. The last owner, the Duke of Aumale, filled the château with a spectacular art collection—including works by Raphael and the illuminated Très Riches Heures—and bequeathed the whole to France in 1886 on condition it never be lent out or rearranged.