The Château de Rambouillet

The Château de Rambouillet
Haute Vallée de Chevreuse
Paris
France
01 34 83 00 25

http://www.monum.fr

Type: Historical Interest
Addmission Fee: Entry Euro 5.50 (Euro 4 with a stamped multi-site brochure), Euro 3.50 for visitors 18-25, free for kids under 18. Museum Passes accepted
Hours: Open daily (except Tuesday), 10am to 11:30am and 2 to 5:30pm (until 4:30pm October to March)

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The Château de Rambouillet was originally a manor house built in 1368 by the Provost of Paris. It was altered considerably as it passed through successive aristocratic hands, slowly being transformed from a medieval fortress into an impressive royal château. Some of the older architectural features remain, such as the 14th-century François I Tower where the king died in 1547. The hunting enthusiast Louis XVI spent more time at Rambouillet than any other monarch, making several changes to make the château more attractive to his wife, Marie Antoinette. The entire left wing of the château was demolished under Napoleon’s over-enthusiastic renovations. It was here that he courted his second wife, Marie-Louise, the archduchess of Austria, and the balcony connecting his office to her bedroom still exists. In 1815 Napoleon signed his second and final abdication in the Château de Rambouillet after his defeat at Waterloo. The Restoration monarch, Charles X, signed his abdication in the same Place 15 years later, and the château became state property under Napoleon III. It has been an official presidential residence since 1883, and has hosted several heads of state and international summits. The interior has an interesting Rococo and neo-Pompeian décor, with elaborate Gobelins tapestries, painted wall panels and a Salle de Marbre (marble room) dating back to the Renaissance. Those who have been to Malmaison or the Musée Napoleon at Fontainebleau may recognize the Emperor’s personal decorating style in the Cabinet de Bain; the Salle de Bain of the Comte de Toulouse is covered in Delft faience tiles. The current presidential quarters are, for obvious reasons, closed to the public. Allow about an hour to visit the whole château.