Château Dreaming

Île-de-France · Seine-et-Marne, France

Château de Fontainebleau

The true "house of centuries": eight hundred years of continuous royal and imperial residence, from Louis VII to Napoleon III. Francis I turned the medieval castle into the showcase of the French Renaissance, importing Italian artists whose work created the School of Fontainebleau. Napoleon bid farewell to his Old Guard in its courtyard in 1814.

Château de Fontainebleau
Photo: Gzen92 · CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

At a glance

Built
12th century origins; Renaissance rebuilding from 1528
Style
Medieval, Renaissance and Classical layers
Commissioned by
Royal residence from Louis VII to Napoleon III
Signature feature
Galerie François Ier and the horseshoe staircase of the Cour d'Honneur
Continuity
Residence of French sovereigns for eight centuries
Napoleonic history
Site of the Emperor's abdication and farewell to the Guard, April 1814
Heritage status
UNESCO World Heritage since 1981
Visiting
Open to visitors (closed Tuesdays)