What to do and see in Picardy, Hauts-de-France: The Best Museums

Le Domaine de Chantilly s'etend sur 7 800 hectares au sein de l'une des plus grandes forets des environs de Paris. Il est compose du chateau et de son musee Conde, du parc et de ses jardins, des grandes ecuries et de leur musee du cheval. Constitue depuis le Moyen-Age par les differents proprietaires (Anne de Montmorency, les Bourbon-Conde dont le Grand Conde, cousin de Louis XIV, Henri d'Orleans, duc d'Aumale), cet ensemble represente donc un patrimoine aux facettes multiples et le plus grand exemple en France d'un domaine princier. Le chateau abrite le Musee Conde, lequel est constitue des appartements princiers, d'une collection exceptionnelle de peintures - plus de 800 chefs d'oeuvres d'artistes tels que Botticelli, Raphael, Poussin, Delacroix - qui en fait le premier musee de peintures anciennes (avant 1850) en France apres le musee du Louvre et d'une bibliotheque et d'archives qui conservent plus de 13 000 ouvrages dont le manuscrit le plus precieux au monde : "Les Tres Riches Heures du duc de Berry". Le parc offre quant a lui un panorama grandiose de l'art du jardin occidental : jardin a la francaise dessine par Le Notre au XVIIe siecle, le Hameau qui inspira Marie-Antoinette, le jardin anglo-chinois du XVIIIe siecle, et le jardin anglais du XIXe siecle.

Welcome in Jules Verne's Home... Come and visit the house where the famous writer lived for 18 years in Amiens and where he wrote most part of his work. You will discover a luxurious private mansion of the XIXth century that will make you discover Jules Verne, his life and his "Extraordinary Voyages". From 15th April to 14th October, opened every day. From15th October to14th April, closed on Tuesday.

Situated at the Heart of the Battle of the Somme (1914/1918), the Somme 1916 Museum of ALBERT traces the lives of soldiers in the trenches during the Franco-British offensive in 1916. At 10 meters below ground and 250 meters in length, you will discover realistic and grasping scenes of the daily lives of our soldiers. Mannequins are brought to life through twelve realistic scenes transporting you to the past. Time passes but the memory remains. The museum is translated into 4 languages using panels (French-English-Dutch–German), and can also be guided by one of our guides in any of these languages.

On the Nonette River, in the heart of Chantilly, the Pavillon de Manse was built at the end of the 17th century by the Prince of Condé and transformed during the 19th century by the duke of Aumale. Designed by J.H Mansart and listed as an historic monument, the old mill houses the Prince of Condé's Machine des Grandes Eaux (1679) and the Duke of Aumale's hydraulic machinery room.