Exploring Chateau De Fontainebleau

 Another day trip that we joined from Paris, was a visit to the Chateau De Fontainebleau, located in the town of Fontainebleau, France. Before it became a Chateau, it was a Castle built in the 12th Century. Then Francis I developed it into a renaissance Chateau which also became the favourite hunting chateau of the subsequent monarchs from Catherine de Medici to Louis XVI, Napoleon I to Napoleon III as it is surrounded by lush and massive forest. The Chateau has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visiting Fontainebleau was enchanting as this Chateau is so huge. It has massive halls and rooms one after the other. It is as huge as the Chateau de Versailles but without the long line ups and it has more art and furniture inside. It was worth a trip exploring the Chateau to learn about the different French monarchs and their stories when they lived in this Chateau. 

The Horse shoe staircase.

 The massive Chateau De Fontainebleau.

 

 

 Portrait of Louis XIV. Marie Antoinette added the Oriental wing in the palace with its massive Oriental Art Collection. 

 

We learned about the story of Napoleon and his beloved Empress Josephine.

 

 

 

 The view of the Royal Chapel.

 

 The massive royal library.

The gardens and the Fontainebleau forest beyond.