Interior of Fontainebleau Palace, Day Trip from Paris
Fontainebleau is well known and much visited by tourists for the large, scenic forest of Fontainebleau and the historic Château de Fontainebleau that once belonged to the kings of France. It is a easy day trip from Paris. It is also the Today it is home of INSEAD, one of the world’s most elite business schools.
Visit to Fontainebleau Palace opened up a slice of French history! It was like stepping back into a time of grandeur and the associated interesting history. All these splendor that adorned the interior of Fontainebleau Palace was funded by peasants and they revolting against the royals, Napoleon signing the Treaty of Fontainebleau, his exit from the palace, and more such details; the audio guide has a good description of all these. Palace and Park of Fontainebleau is included in UNESCO World Heritage sites.
At the first sight it may not seem grand from its exterior and stands pale in comparison to Versailes, but once you get to the interior of Fontainebleau Palace you will be charmed by its aura.
Some of the rooms in the palace were crowded, tourists halted at some of the rooms for longer duration. This was one such room. The Treaty of Fontainebleau was signed here in this room. The agreement papers signed on this table. Based on the most significant terms of the accord, Napoleon was stripped of his powers as ruler of the French Empire, but both Napoleon and Marie-Louise of Austria were permitted to preserve their respective titles as emperor and empress.
The Emperor’s chamber, this room was used as a bed chamber for the sovereigns from Napoleon I to Napoleon III. I toured Palace of Versailles the day after touring this palace and I think I enjoyed the visit to this palace more.
Fontainebleau Palace is located 60kms southeast of Paris. It is wonderful day trip destination from Paris. This Palace is one of the most beautiful one in whole of France. Almost all kings from 15th century to 19th century occupied this grand palace.
Wiki mentions “thirty-four sovereigns, from Louis VI, the Fat, (1081–1137) to Napoleon III (1808–1873), spent time at Fontainebleau”. What started as a royal country house turned into a royal palace, with each king making renovations, by means of demolitions, additions and reconstructions!
After 1786…
Interior decorations that existed before 1786 were in French Renaissance style. The Royal family that resided there never came back to occupy Fontainebleau after French Revolution. All furniture belonging to that era were sold to raise money for the nation. Napoleon occupied this residence and refurnished the palace in Empire style. And that is what we get to see today.
Interior of Fontainebleau Palace
If you can enjoy the opulence and grandeur of European royalty without any kind of bias then you will definitely enjoy the sights you get to see in the palace of Fontainebleau. The rooms are furnished with period furniture and tapestries.
The bedrooms were like “OMG!” Heavenly ambience! Imagine lying on them! The furnishings are classy and lavish. Each room is decorated differently; I came out wide eyed from each room. Just when I thought the decoration of one room to be ultimate, the next room would be even more stunning.
So this was the opulence the peasants had funded for the royals! I remember seeing one room, a huge dining room, where the royals had food and the same room had a section where poor peasants were allowed to stand and watch them take food.
Ceilings, chandeliers in the ceilings, walls adorned with frescos, their curtains and other accessories and the carpets on floor; top to bottom, I wanted to capture them all. I did to my very best and I will share the shots here in future posts.
The Library – Interiors of Fontainebleau Palace
The library in the palace is magnificent, we looked up to see the beautiful ceiling and our jaws dropped down. You can look at this only from the doorway. Stacks of books arranged in the shelves in the sides. The globe was made for Napoleon I.
Anne of Austria’s Bedchamber
The renaissance style sculpted walnut furniture, comprised of 4 post bed, 2 bedside tables, 2 commodes, a console, a sofa, 6 armchairs and 2 foot stools. Isn’t it grand?! One can see all these from the far end of the room. And tourists stood rooted in this place awestruck. This is one of the rooms which was most crowded, I remember that well.
Interiors of Fontainebleau Palace Day trip from Paris
Visiting Tips for Fontainebleau Palace
We visited the palace mid-April, the lines weren’t long. Weather was perfectly fine, that doesn’t matter because you will spend more time seeing the interiors.
- Not all rooms are open to public.
- The audio guide is excellent, helps you notice details.
- Photography (without flash) is allowed thankfully.
Ceiling in Queen’s Chamber Fontainebleau
Tour time for Fontainebleau: Keep two hours for a satisfactory tour through these rooms.
Tickets and Timings
It is free entry for children less than 26 years.
Full price: 12 €. Reduced rate: 10 €.
Note these days: Visit is free of charge first Sunday of each month except in July and August
The Palace is open all year round, daily.
Closed only on January 1st, May 1st and December 25th.
Location and How to Reach
It takes less than an hour from Paris by train or car. If you take the train, stop at Fontainebleau-Avon Train Station. We self drove the car we hired. Plenty of parking space available.
Also read: Napoleon’s Speech at Fontainebleau Palace, Paris
What opulence! Like Sylvia, I don't think I would be able to sleep in that bed/bedroom either 🙂 What struck me here was your sentence, "…a huge dining room, where the royals had food and the same room had a section where poor peasants were allowed to stand and watch them take food" It feels so sad to think of such a thing happening.
Its wonderful to be able to travel and see places. Lucky you 🙂
Wow! Reminds me of the time I spent here. The gardens so vast and beautiful. I so happy to see all this again! Thanks. did you visit Moret Sur Loin?
lovely
"poor peasants were allowed to stand and watch them take food"… why… that's so odd!
Very magnificent and opulent palace!
Wow! beautiful interiors.
Very opulent. Great shots and information.
Wow! You know.. You have shown me many fine castles, but finally a place I've been! But, not on the inside. Only in the park surrounding the castle.
So interesting to see a little bit of what's inside.
Great details in the ceiling.
Thank you:-)
I would have never thought that I would see a palace even more rich and beautiful ! But I saw it in Istambul, the Dolmabace Palace ! Versailles and Fontainbleau were nearly garden sheds besides that, lol !
Imagine sleeping in such a spectacular space!
Parthasarathi is right that it is so cruel to let the poor beggars watch the rich feeding on the most delicious dishes. As this is still going on we should do more about it. My daughters and myself often buy presents at Oxfam. This is only a little bit of help. But if everybody did something with the purpose to help, poverty would be reduced considerably.
Thank you for these beautiful photos. It is good that this magnificent palace is still there open to the public.
I have seen several French castles and I enjoyed seeing them all, but at the same time I also had these
unpleasant thoughts, I expressed above.
Lovely colors .
So fine and detailed pictures, Indrani!
The work is so extravagent and grand! Amazingly you have captured!
Magnificent! What a place and it must have been very interesting to visit.
The palace is magnificent with exquisite art work and very intricate patterns. Lovely pictures.
Love the ceiling, cheers Indrani.
I would truly love to visit this palace. 'Opulent' seems like an understatement. Your photos are stunningly beautiful.
What a fantastic place!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.
Indrani, a beautiful tour of the palace. the rooms and decor are just GRAND looking. Thanks for sharing, have a happy day!
It all looks so fantastic… many thanks for sharing.
wow!!!! am spellbound at the sight of this!! can barely imagine what it would have been like… and as u so rightfully pointed out, if we can keep ourselves free of other thoughts, we can truly enjoy this… and its true of all palaces actually, even the ones in India bring up such thoughts… but to enjoy them, we need to keep such thoughts at bay and simply enjoy the craftsmanship!
Very grand and gaudy!
Errrr how pathetic tht those peasents hv to be a mute spectator n see the royaltly relishing the very fod he toiled for!
it is all so beautiful and your photos show it off so well, something I would never see here as I will never travel there, so there is a thankfulness for this Indrani. There is also a true historical awareness shown in every movie or tv show of the opulence of the wealthy but it is still amazing to see the artistry of all of it. think of all the workers and artists who created this.
Wonder how they could sleep in rooms like these:):)
looking beautiful
thanks
Thanks so much for your comments friends!
Thank you Parthasarathi for your comment. These can be appreciated only if you have no bias as I mentioned in my second para. Rich oppressing the poor has been taking place for centuries and is still continuing.
to wake up in that bed in that room (in pic 1)…..god!!!….
and i guess royalty every where in the world skimmed off the peasants and commoners to live a lavish lifestyle be it Indian maharajas or european kings 🙂
What struck me was the opulence and the vanity of the kings seen through the excellent pictures not to leave out their sadistic proclivity as seen from your sentence " remember seeing one room, a huge dining room, where the royals had food and the same room had a section where poor peasants were allowed to stand and watch them take food." How cruel!!
incredible details. must be a pain to clean.
Charters likes your pictures of Chartres & Fontenbleau.
Aloha
What a grand palace. Thanks for the tour!
Wow, what a great place to visit! Gorgeous captures!
Absolutely magnificent. I will probably never be able to visit, so I appreciate your post.
An Arkies Musings
Beautiful and colourful palace. Nice post.
Thanks for all your nice photo's….this is again a great post.
Greetings, Joop
Palace impresses his wealth, opulence. It is wonderful.
This is the palace of Napoleon on Elba and exported 2,000 volumes.
Regards.
Lucia
Oh, what an awesome place!! I'm not sure I would ever be able to fall asleep in a bedroom like this one!! I'd be too busy looking at the walls/ceiling and furniture!! Terrific capture, Indrani!! Thanks for the tour! Have a great week!