Fontainebleau

On our second trip to France we went to Fontainebleau, located 65 km from Paris, to see the famous château. In those days the Hachette Guide was the book and this château was worth the three star rating.

Napoleon added the horseshoe staircase,. This is known as la cour des adieux, the farewell courtyard, as it was from here that he bid farewell to him men when he abdicated in 1814.

Although Françoise I had it built originally as a hunting lodge, his successors turned the château into a grand residence with a gallery, apartments for three queen mothers and of course a ballroom.

Fontainebleau created a decorative style of its own, known as the school of Fontainebleau.

We drove through the Fontainebleau Forest. Not sure what I was expecting, but it has been there since the Middle Ages!

PHOTO: MYTRAVELLINGLENS.COM