Great castles
of Ile-de-France

Fontainebleau is not just one monarch’s palace, it belonged to them all, a “family home” for the kings of France, passed down from generation to generation from the Middle Ages to the 19^th century.

When Louis XIV saw Vaux-le-Vicomte, he became so jaleous and uppset that in his rage he imprisoned his owner. Later he took his inspiration for the construction of Versailles.

Fontainebleau is the only CASTLE inhabited by all the sovereigns from the 12^th to the 19^th century, and the most furnished of the French royal castles. With over 1,500 rooms, it features Renaissance masterpieces commissioned by Francis I, the lavishly decorated interiors of Marie Antoinette, the state apartment of Napoleon I, the styles preferred by Napoleon III and Eugenie… A royal residence for hunting and getting away from it all, it tells us all about the monarchs’ official and intimate court life.

Sitting in a 130 hectare estate, the various buildings forming the château are spread over four main courtyards, 3 GARDENS AND A PARK . The astonishingly diverse range of shapes, colours and buildings, reflecting the tastes of the different eras in which they were built, made an English visitor declare that Fontainebleau was like visiting a “host of palaces”. The harmony which nevertheless emerges from this collection is the result of the monarchs’ desire to continue along the same lines as their predecessors. This succession of architectural styles unfolds throughout the gardens, which were completely redesigned during the 19^th century: the Diana garden and the English garden were designed in the style of English landscape gardens. The classical Grand Parterre by André Le Nôtre (1660-1664), with its 14 hectares of French-style formal gardens, offers a totally different experience in terms of space and perspectives. It extends, beyond the Bassin des Cascades, with a long park that Henri IV’s grand canal cuts through for its entire length.

Louis Le Vau was already widely celebrated when Fouquet called on his services in 1653.  As the King’s “Principal Architect,” he had already erected a number of Parisian famous mansions. Considered the greatest ambassador of the Italianate style of architecture in France, Le Vau also drew inspiration from classical antiquity. Drawing on these traditional sources, he then created a powerful new style of his own, starting with Vaux-le-Vicomte. Here, he layed the foundations of French architecture for the next 150 years.

Vaux-le-Vicomte’s garden is the seminal expression of the Jardin à la française, the French aesthetic of formal gardens that swept Europe in the 17^th century.  From 1641, Nicolas Fouquet gave full rein to the genius of the renowned landscape gardener André Le Nôtre who used the latest technical, scientific and artistic knowledge of his era.

« Everything fought at Vaux for the king’s pleasure, music, waters, chandeliers, stars » – Jean de la Fontaine