FRANCE

CONTINENTAL DRIFTER
The pleasures of France’s No. 2 palace
by Elliott Hester

Fontainebleau, France — Due to its enormous scale and spectacular geometric gardens, the 700-room Château of Versailles is the most prominent royal palace in France. The estate attracts 3 million annual visitors. On any given day the grounds are jam-packed with tourists.

The Château of Fontainebleau, by comparison, is the largest of French royal palaces. And yet, it draws a mere 300,000 visitors each year. According to Napoleon Bonaparte, Fontainebleau is a “true home of kings, the house of the centuries.”

The emperor’s endorsement, as well as the smaller crowds, provided me with enough of an incentive to visit.

Located in the village of Fontainebleau (pop.16,000) about 40 miles southeast of Paris, the palace boasts 1,536 rooms—more than double the number at Versailles. As is the case with Versailles, Fontainebleau is a labyrinth of throne rooms and ballrooms, chapels and galleries, gilded boudoirs and silk-lined salons.

Erected on the site of a 12th-century castle and expanded over the centuries by a succession of royal tenants, Fontainebleau embodies 900 years of French history.

In 1268, King Philip IV the Fair was born at Fontainebleau (he died here in 1314). This was the favorite residence of King François I (1494 – 1547). He began a Renaissance-style expansion of the property in 1528. Henri II (1519 – 1559) and wife Catherine de’ Medici (1519 – 1589) commissioned new buildings in the Fountain Courtyard. Louis XIV (1638 -1715), fond of hunting in nearby Fontainebleau Forest, refurbished numerous rooms to accommodate his ever-expanding court. And when Napoleon (1769 -1821) returned after the revolution to find the palace had been sacked, he refurnished the entire estate.

During WWII, Fontainebleau was seized by the Nazi army and turned into a command center. In 1944, after General George S. Patton’s army swept through France, the palace was converted into an Allied command post. From 1949 to 1966 a portion of the estate served as NATO Supreme Headquarters.

These days, Fontainebleau plays host to wide-eyed visitors like me. On a warm spring afternoon, I walked past the wrought iron palace gates and stepped into the White Horse Courtyard.

Larger than 2 football fields, this substantial square is also called the “Farewell Courtyard.” It was here on April 6, 1814, that Napoleon delivered his famous farewell speech to the Imperial Guard. Having abdicated the throne, he spoke from the horseshoe-shaped staircase at the front of the palace. Afterward, he was exiled to the island of Elba.

Inside the palace, I marveled at an assortment of elaborately furnished (if not pompously ornate) state apartments and Renaissance rooms. Among the most memorable are:

Diana’s Gallery: Built by Henri IV for his queen, the 260-foot-long gilded corridor contains 16,000 volumes from Napoleon’s library. The narrow concave ceiling is adorned with frescos commemorating Henri’s beloved.

Throne Room: Originally the king’s bedroom, Napoleon had it converted to a ceremonial chamber in 1808. The domed ceiling, from which hangs a crystal chandelier, is etched in gold, as is the throne, crown, and walls.

Empress’s Bedchamber: Ornate beyond words, the walls are covered in brocaded silk. A queen-size bed lies beneath a 25-foot-high silk canopy and is surrounded by a golden railing. The bed was custom made for Marie Antoinette. She never got the chance to sleep in it, because the court didn’t return to Fontainebleau before the revolution.

François I Gallery: A vivid example of Renaissance art, the gallery was constructed in 1528 to allow passage between the Royal Apartments and the Chapel of the Covenant (since replaced by Trinity Chapel). The walls are covered in embroidered walnut wainscoting that bears François’s emblematic initials. Iron chandeliers dangle from walnut-paneled ceiling.

The gardens are not as elaborate as those at Versailles. But with 4,500 planted trees and 40,000 flowers spread across 300 acres, the sprawling greens at Fontainebleau aren’t too shabby either.

Next Stop: Stockholm, Sweden

RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE RETURN TO HOME PAGE