You don’t have to be horse-crazy to appreciate the drowsy charm of this elegant provincial town, but it helps.

Just north of Paris is an attractive, apparently sleepy little town with lots of short people and lots of tall trees that obscure a semi-secretive business of startling proportions. Set on the banks of the Nonette River, Chantilly is the core of France’s thoroughbred training and breeding. It’s where more than 3000 racehorses owned by the world’s mega-rich are nurtured and educated in palatial five-star stables, mostly screened from the prying eyes of competitors.

Le Château de Chantilly, France by Guillaume Cattiaux

In summer, when Chantilly’s flower-filled window-boxes are in full colour, the Paris social set descends on one of the most beautiful racecourses in the world, in the grounds of the Chateau de Chantilly, for the running in June of the celebrated Prix de Diane and the Jockey Club Stakes.

The jockeys are significantly shorter than the average height of Chantilly’s population of 11,500, most of whom are horse-crazy and the evidence of that is everywhere.

Horses can be seen at the myriad stables, on practice tracks and parading around the streets.

They turn up in countless works of art, in a horse museum, on the covers of hotel menus, emblazoned all over restaurant crockery and in the minds and lives of 1700 citizens who are employed, one way or another, in their service.

But there’s more to Chantilly than the horses; it’s also a town of chateaux, parks, forests and lakes. Chantilly forest was once the hunting ground of France’s elite, but is now open to everyone and is crisscrossed with bridleways and cycle paths.

On race days, the weathered faces of elderly women, framed by neatly-kept flowerboxes, face each other across narrow streets to exchange gossip and racing tips, while the town’s many alfresco cafes can be so busy, their tables encroach on to adjacent parking lots.

Le Chateau de Chantilly, France by Nawal_

But Chantilly’s pride is its majestic Renaissance Chateau de Chantilly, set on 7900ha on the edge of town. It is actually two chateaux: the Petit Chateau, dating back to the early 1500s, and the fairytale castle known as Grand Chateau, rebuilt in the 1870s after being destroyed during the French Revolution. Like many other French castles, the Chateau de Chantilly is picturesque and was used for residential purposes, not defensive ones.

Louis XV used the Grand Chateau as a plush weekender to entertain Madame de Pompadour before the original’s demise. Rebuilt from scratch as an exact replica by the Duc d’Aumale, it now belongs to the Institut de France. In a section called the Musee Conde, there’s a fabulous art collection of some 800 old masters and more than 5000 drawings and engravings from the 14th to 19th centuries.

More than 30,000 volumes of rare books and a fine collection of Chantilly porcelain bearing 18th-century Chinese-style designs also feature in this superb museum, which is open to the public. In thechateau’s stone-vaulted kitchens, once the realm of legendary 17th-century chef Vorace Vatel, La Capitainerie is now a superb restaurant with an open-hearth fireplace big enough to barbecue a bull – it’s a beautiful setting for lunch every day except Tuesday.

The fashionable racetrack, Courses de Chantilly, is set within the chateau’s grounds and underneath it is a maze of subterranean tunnels built by erstwhile royal residents as escape routes in case of a siege, something that probably plays on the jockeys’ minds as they pound around its surface each summer.

The chateau’s massive stable complex, built in the 1820s and 300m long, once housed 240 horses and 300 hunting dogs. Today, it is the headquarters of the Musee Vivant du Cheval, the Living Horse Museum.

With 31 rooms, 4000sq m of floor space and 800m of track, this huge equine shrine attracts 200,000 visitors a year. The exhibits include old saddles, carriages, harnesses, veterinary instruments and even carousel horses.

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Blue Lagoon, Comino, Malta by Simon

A Short History of Comino

The name Comino derives from the cumin seed, which was once prolific on the small island. Most notably, from today’s age to centuries ago, Malta has always been best known for its isolation and tranquillity. For prolonged sections of its history, Comino has either been sparsely populated, privately owned or been completely vacant. During the Roman Times, it was mostly inhabited by farmers, but in the Middle Ages and with the rise in sea faring vessels, Comino became a popular hideout for pirates and looters. This was due to Comino’s rugged coastline, which ran jagged with sheer limestone cliffs, providing the ideal coverage for rouge ships. Comino’s many caves and coves were also used by pirates to ambush unsuspecting ships sailing between the islands of Malta and Gozo.

Comino’s early history is also linked to knights. It was used as the hunting ground for the Knights of Malta and in the 16th and 17th century, it became a place of exile for wayward knights, who were given the tedious task of guarding St. Mary’s tower. The tower was built in the 15th century to help spot invasions and to also deter pirates from hiding on the island.

Comino Caves, Malta by Simon

Tourist Attractions

Malta only has a handful of permanent residents and the majority of people on the island are just temporary visitors, who stay over at one of the Comino hotels. Large sections of the island are cornered off as a bird sanctuary and nature reserve, making Comino a haven for wildlife. Because of its tranquillity and crystal clear waters, Comino is an excellent diving spot, although some of the waters are restricted. The most popular attraction is the Blue Lagoon, a postcard bay that boasts crystal clear waters and a stretch of smooth, white sand. It’s visited by tourists on a daily basis and is popular with swimmers, snorkelers and divers. Because of its spectacular beauty, Comino has appeared in many films, notably Troy and The Count of Monte Cristo.

Penny Munroe is an avid writer in travel news and tips. Articles include travelling safety tips to outlining the beautiful holidays Malta offer.

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Abruzzo National Park is surrounded by the mountain peaks, reaching an altitude of 2000m. Among the mountains the river Sangro creates the way through the narrow gorges to wide open valleys and occasionally through small villages.

Local information centers offer a multimedia presentation, about all the peculiarities of the surface and beneath the surface of Abruzzo National Park.

Walking through the park is a very nice rest. I recommend the route number 11, which leads to the Valle delle Rose. The trip takes less than 5 hours and you will surely see the red mountain goat, or deer.

Very nice is also a trip along the trail BN1, which leads to a beautiful viewing point from which you have open views across the valley Pescasseroli. It is a 50 minutes walk from the town Pescasseroli.

The settlement Barrea has a lot to offer as well. It covers the lake Barrea, several churches, and Nature Reserve Lago di Pantaniello.

View Abruzzo National Park – natural beauty in Italy in a larger map

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