Palace of Fontainebleau

The Château de Fontainebleau is a beautiful castle located 55 kilometers southeast of Paris and is one of the best day trips from the city. The first castle, surrounded by a vast and picturesque forest, was built in the XII century as a hunting retreat for King Louis VII* of France. Since then, the king's successors have spent a great deal of time and money enlarging and embellishing this castle, and it is now one of the largest (and most beautiful) royal castles in France.

The Renaissance and Classicism are the two main architectural eras represented in the current Château de Fontainebleau. The castle is a series of magnificently decorated elegant rooms and grand halls with occasional rustic touches (after all it was a hunting place). The Chapel of the Trinity, the Ballroom, and the Gallery of Francis are the most lavishly decorated areas.

The Grand Parterre, the largest in Europe and King Louis XIV's primary improvement to Fontainebleau, is another highlight of this castle. The gardens here represent the major landscaping trends of their eras and are equally impressive. There are no lines and free admission to Fontainebleau on the first Sunday of every month, excluding the months of July and August, if that isn't enough to convince you to visit this magnificent castle.

The French kings lived in the Palace of Fontainebleau, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, continuously from the 12th century until the end of the 19th century, when Napoleon III abdicated and the monarchy came to an end. The palace, which is located to the southeast of Paris in the middle of a vast forest, has more than 1,500 rooms and provides a nearly unparalleled window into 700 long and eventful years of French culture and history.

Location: Fontainebleau