Epsom - twinned with Chantilly in France

Epsom twinned with Chantilly, France in 1995. Both towns have strong links with racing.

Chantilly is 25 miles north of Paris, close to the A1 motorway to Lille. It has a population of 13,000. There is a fine chateau with the art collection built up by the Duc d'Aumerle at the end of the 19th century; it includes works by Raphael, Poussin, Reynolds and van Dyck amongst others. There is a unique Live Equestrian Museum which presents equestrian events on Saturday evenings, and has other presentations at other times.

Chantilly is surrounded by forests covering over 15,000 acres. It has become the capital of French racing with over 3,000 horses under training. The famous Prix du Jockey-Club and Prix de Diane races take place in June.

The surrounding area has many interesting attractions, including the Chateau de la Reine Blanche, the museum of the Abbey Royal of Chaalis, the Abbeys of Royaumont and St. Leu d'Esserent, and the Abbey Royal of Moncel.

The Epsom ttown twinning association has kindly supplied the following additional information

In September 1995 the Mayors of Epsom & Ewell and Chantilly signed a Town Twinning agreement Where is Chantilly? About 25 miles north of Paris near the A16 and A1 motorways which link Paris with Lille, Brussels and the Channel ports. From the Paris Eurostar terminal, the train journey takes 30 minutes. What is Chantilly like? A very pleasant residential and market town with strong racing connections surrounded by forest and attractive countryside. Population approx 13,000, many work training horses. Among many reasons for visiting Chantilly are: · the French Derby, modelled on Epsom's since 1834 a fine chateau housing many priceless works of art the historic working Museum of the Horse The Chantilly, Epsom & Ewell Association Financed by members' subscriptions and fund-raising activities, it helps to foster links between schools, groups and individuals in Chantilly, Epsom & Ewell. It can advise on accommodation in Chantilly and on clubs and organisations there. It actively promotes twinning at Borough events and through contacts with those responsible for twinning in Chantilly. For details please contact: D Deavin, SecretaryTelephone: (01372) 811228Email: deavin@cwctv.netM Nightingale, Membership SecretaryTelephone: 020 8393 9331Email: margaretn@cwcom.net We also present our compliments to the township of Epsom, New Hampshire and to any other Epsoms there may be in the world