Back Fontainebleau

Fontainebleau, sovereign for centuries: Royal Town and Holiday Residence, Fontainebleau - encompassing palace and forest - has accommodated royalty for centuries. Since the Middle Ages, 34 sovereigns have succeeded one another in the Palace. The site and its times have come together to weave a tapestry of history.

Today, the "Maison des Siecles" or "House of Centuries" and the forest are included on UNESCO's world heritage list. Occupied by Philippe-Auguste, then Saint Louis, then Philippe the Fair, it was Francis I who, in 1528, commissioned the Italian decorators Rosso and Le Primati to introduce an Italian style décor, which was not well known in France at the time, based on stucco and frescos. An avid collector, the king amassed jewels, objects and, above all, works of the great masters of the Italian Renaissance. In 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Emperor there.

A tour of the palace includes the sumptuous "Renaissance" rooms decorated by Italian artists whose decorative style greatly influenced the decors of the period. The immense apartments and the fresco-covered ballroom where celebrations were held testify to the lavish life of the court. The Emperor's interior apartment, the Empress Eugenie's Chinese museum, the small apartments and the Napoleon I museum are all marvels to be discovered as well...

 

The gardens, whose creation dates back to Francis I, with a parterre designed by Le Nôtre, today offer a magnificent and highly varied illustration of more than three centuries of changes in the art of the garden in France.