Visit to the Domain of Châalis.
From April 15 to November 1, the museum and park are open on Thursday afternoons, from 1 p.m. to 5 or 6 p.m. An interesting guide by the Curator, Louis Gillet, is sold for 2 francs.
For the passing motorist the visit in detail is not indispensable. The Museum, although interesting, is far from equal to that which Mme. Jacquemart André established in her house in the Boulevard Haussmann, Paris, and which she bequeathed to the "Institut" at the same time as Châalis. As far as concerns the park and ruins, an adequate idea of them will be obtained by following our itinerary.
From the entrance gate one sees: in front, the ruins of the church; to the left, the castle, containing the museum. The whole is quite imposing.
At a moderate pace we take the road (on the right of the gate) which leads to the ponds. After traversing them, through the enchanting scenery, of which the photograph below gives some idea, the road runs through woodlands and brings us back to the high road of Ermenonville, down which we turn to the left.
On the other side of this road spreads the second portion of the domain of Châalis: the Désert, which formerly belonged to the park of Ermenonville. In the neighbourhood of this park it consists of a lovely, wooded landscape, with two ponds in the background; but at the other extremity there is a great contrast, for an arid stretch of land, the "Sea of Sand," faces the ponds of Châalis.
The Désert, like the park of Ermenonville, teems with memories of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (see p. [73]).
Skirting the ponds of the Désert we arrive at Ermenonville (40 km.).
The castle, which belongs to Prince Radzivill, is on the left of the road (it is not open to visitors). The park (open to the public on Sundays, Thursdays and holidays) is on the right.