Chateau de Fontainebleau

Today we did something a little different and booked a tour to the two chateaus.  We usually do things on our own, but these two chateaus are located a ways from train stations and the travel seemed complicated.  Our tour included transportation from Paris to each chateau and back and admission to both chateaus which included audio guides. We had no guide on the bus, just a driver and she did not speak English.  We were given a timed itinerary as to when we needed to be on the bus after each stop, but the driver did not remind us of this when we got off.  You know how that turned out. 

Our first stop was Chateau de Fontainebleau.  It is massive! The pamphlet that I picked up at the chateau said that it has hosted 36 Kings and Emperors!  Napoleon was a big fan of this chateau.  Marie Antoinette also stayed there.  

You had two choices to start the tour.  There was a Napoleon “museum” which was located in one of the wings of the house or you could start with the apartments.  We started with the museum.  This painting is of his coronation. In one room they set it up as he would have his tent on the battlefield, which was pretty cool.  

They also had his son’s cradle on display, which really demonstrates how important this child was to Napoleon.  I was not a big fan of the audio guide for this section of the chateau.  I thought they focused too much on specific objects in the rooms.  I got bored and stopped listening by the last two rooms.  

I decided to suck it up and listen to the other rooms and I was happy that I did, even if it was a bit confusing since many rooms had several uses over the years and by different people.  I still got useful information.  We opted to check out the papal apartments first.  They were designed for the Pope to stay in when he visited, but he had a falling out with Napoleon over the coronation and then later the Pope  was sequestered in the same apartments. 

This is the papal bed. 

Whenever we visit these elaborate houses, I like to pay attention to ceilings, floors, and clocks on the mantels.  In these chateaus, I was saddened to learn that many pieces of furniture that were really cool were made from tortoiseshell. 

This was one of the few clocks that was stand alone.  The figures in gold are actually made of paper mache!

This room changed so many times that the only thing that remains original is the medal on the fireplace. 

This library started with Napoleon and has been added onto with each monarch that ruled after him.  I was sad that I could go in to see the books. 

The balustrade around the bed indicated that only the queen could enter that area. 

The throne room is set up exactly the same as it was seen back in the 1800s. 

This is Napoleon’s bedroom.  He loved the chairs that look like half sofas next to the fire. 

Napoleon actually slept in his study more often than his bedroom.  I think this makes a lot of sense because this bed is actually a cot.  I’m sure he was used to sleeping that way from all his battles.  This is actually his desk. 

This is the actual table in which Napoleon signed his abdication. 

The pond in the back of the chateau had some huge fish. 

Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte

This chateau is privately owned.  I am not sure if the family resides there at any time, but it would not be in the main house that we visited.  They do have converted stables. 

Although the chateau is impressive, the gardens were even more so. They have at least two miles of gardens.  You can rent a golf cart for 45 minutes to an hour to tour the gardens.  We were going to do it, but there was a wait and we had to be on the bus at a certain time. 

When we entered the chateau we received the audio guide.  It was not the normal guide.  This one was surround sound and it was as if people were shutting doors and walking right next to you talking.  Instead of describing the rooms, it was conversations between the original owners of the chateau.  It was interesting, but confusing.  The story was not told exactly in order. It was neat that when you entered the next room the audio automatically jumped to the next file. 

The cabinets in this chateau were incredible.  There was also a lot of fabulous woodwork and carvings. 

I thought this was a neat interactive activity for visitors of the chateau.  It was a puzzle of the painting on the ceiling. 

Of course the library was one of my favorite rooms.  You could actually sit on some furniture and read books that they left for you. The squirrel on the crest on the wall is actually the symbol for the first owner of the chateau.  

This room was created specifically for the king.  The owner, Nicolas Fouquot wanted to impress the king.  Instead, the king arrested him.  Fouquot was suspected of allocating funds that were not his and he was put in prison for life in another country! 

I enjoyed the views from the grounds.  It was really far to walk around and we didn’t go that far. We were lucky that it was such a nice cool day. 

The only issue that we had with the tour was leaving this chateau. We were supposed to be on the bus at 5.  This one woman did not show up until 5:20.  Instead of apologizing, she just stood there looking confused. All the people who spoke French yelled at her and told her to sit down so we could get going.  I swear she stood for a few extra minutes just to be more disagreeable.  I only understood part of the French that was said. 

The excursion made it a lot easier for us to tour these two chateaus, but there needs to be some clearer rules in terms of departure times and a driver who only speaks one language was not helpful.