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FONTAINEBLEAU CHATEAU
Napoleon and France’s Great Royal Palace

Perhaps lesser known and farther from Paris than the Versailles Palace, the Chateau of Fontainebleu had been a residential palace of French kings since the 12th Century. The current massive royal castle was constructed in the 16th Century and refurbished by the resident now most associated with it, Napoleon Bonaparte I, first Life Consul and Emperor of France. It was from Fontainebleu that Napoleon abdicated in 1814, before his return from Elba in 1815 for his last power trip (see Route Napoleon). The chateau and formal garden grounds provide an impressive glimpse into royal and imperial lifestyle taking up the space of a mid-sized industrial park in the town of Fontainebleu, surrounded by a tree thick forest, about an hour south of Paris where the Seine River dips before flowing to the capital city.

The Renaissance era rooms retain their unique fresco and stucco art by Italian artists Rosso and Primaticcio. The apartments of the French monarchs, antechambers, drawing rooms and throne room illustrate all the pomp and splendor of a French royal court without the over-the-top rococo frippery of Versailles. When Napoleon took up residence in 1804 he had several of the interior chambers refurbished for his own private use, bedchamber, office and other apartments, including a separate one for Josephine, for when he wanted to be alone with his grand designs on world conquest. Four drawing rooms we later reconstructed in 1863 by Napoleon III for his wife, Empress Eugenie, for her collection of oriental art in the Chinese Museum known as the Chinese Drawing Room.

The chateau castle of Fontainebleau is surrounded by a hundred acres of parkland, courtyards and gardens. The Oval Courtyard is the oldest part of the castle with a remaining 12th Century square keep, entered through the Dauphine Gate. Other courtyards and gardens were added by Louis XV, Francois I and Louis XIV, with the later’s Grand Parterre, designed by his Versailles landscape architect, the largest formal garden in France with 45,000 plants blooming in its flowerbeds every spring.

For Napoleon Bonaparte fans, the Napoleon I Museum in the Fontainebleu Chateau has several rooms displaying memorabilia of Napoleon and his family during his reign as Emperor (1804-1814), the second empire. The collection includes his coronation robe and sword, his cocked hat and a campaign tent along with other items and portraits of his second wife Marie-Louise, the Archduchess of Austria, and his son, Napoleon II, known as the King of Rome from birth, though he never actually went there.

The town of Fontainebleau which grew around the palace was a popular tourism spot for upper class Parisians in centuries past and the rich forest landscapes around, popular with French landscape painters sometimes called the "savage" school. The nearby village of Barbizon became known as the "village of painters" in the 1800's. The town center of Fontainebleau can be crowded with tourists at peak times, but provides a number of museums and other sites to visit along with charming restaurants. There is even an ornate merry-go-round among the sidewalk ice creameries and local cheese shops where the local soft creamy "Le Fontainebleau" variety can be sampled. And if real horses are of interest there are two well-known equestrian centers, the Hippodrome de la Solle and the Grand Parquet.

For even more Napoleon, the Musee Napoleonien, also known as the Museum of Military History of Fountainbleu, is entirely separate from the Fontainbleau Palace, located a few blocks away in a smaller in town chateau on Rue Saint-Honore. Here you’ll find 4 floors of military uniforms, dressed on figures in tableau, equipment and figurines, mostly from the Napoleonic period, including a uniform of Napoleon's from when he was merely a Consul and Brigadier General. (For more Napoleon memorabilia and history sites see Napoleon's Tomb, Waterloo). Other curious historical museums in town are the National Museum of Prisons housed in the former Fontainebleu Prison and the French National Achives where history or genealogy can be researched. These latter two require contacting the Tourist Office for appointments or group tours.

Although Fontainebleau is in the Seine-et-Marne region it can be a good starting point for a tour further south to the Loire Chateaus and Loire Valley wine touring, or just for a quick weekend or day trip from Paris. Fontainebleu is just off the A6 south of Paris, plan for about an hour by car. The SCNF French Railway train from Paris Gare de Lyon Station takes about 45 minutes, with a bus to the chateau. The rail company offers a train-bus-chateau State Apartments entrance package as well. © Bargain Travel Europe

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