FRANCE
Palace of Fontainebleau offers the royal treatment
French kings lived there for 700 years, leaving their mark for all to see indoors and out.
Visitors to Paris almost inevitably take a day away from the city to see the nearby Château de Versailles, seat of kings during the French golden age in the 17th and 18th centuries.
That's all well and good, except that it misses Fontainebleau, a royal château almost as close to town occupied by French kings for 700 years, beginning in the Middle Ages when it was a hunting lodge.
In the 16th century, Francis I (1494-1547) gave the castle on the edge of the royal Forest of Fontainebleau a makeover, importing artists from Italy who brought the Renaissance with them. Henry IV (1553-1610) created the garden, with its canal and patterned parterres. After degradation during the French Revolution, Napoleon -- who called Fontainebleau "the true house of kings" -- restored the château in the distinguished Empire style.
Et voilà : The château you see today as you approach along the Rue Royale from Paris, enter the gate and stand in the White Horse Courtyard, gazing at the famous horseshoe staircase where Napoleon said goodbye to his troops before going into exile in 1814.
Visitors can tour the Grands Appartements at will, with audio guides to point out the remarkable late Renaissance frescoes, framed in richly modeled stucco, and Napoleon's suite, where the workaholic emperor and general rarely slept through the night.
Guided tours are available for the Petits Appartements and Napoleon Museum. The beautiful gardens are open daily, free of charge.
Royal patronage made the town of Fontainebleau prosper, and it is still a handsome place today full of shops, restaurants and hotels. Elegant cafes overlook the Place Napoleon Bonaparte with its pollarded trees and restored carousel. The Seine winds nearby past quiet stone villages and at almost every turning, paths beckon into the Forest of Fontainebleau.
Fontainebleau can be reached from Paris' Gare de Lyon in about 45 minutes; package tickets including train fare, bus connections and château entrance can be purchased at the station.
The Fontainebleau Tourist Office is near the château on Rue Royale, 011-331-60-74-99-99, www.fontainebleau-tourisme.com .
Bikes can be rented at À la Petite Reine, 32 Rue des Sablons, 011-33-1-60-74-57-57.
The Aigle Noir, 27 Place Napoleon Bonaparte, 011-33-1-60-7460-00, www.hotelaiglenoir.fr , is an attractive, centrally located inn founded in 1764; doubles start around $200. Behind it is the Ibis Hotel, 18 Rue de Ferrare, 011-33-1-60-23-45-25, www.ibishotel.com , a sound budget choice; doubles start around $90.
Two good places to eat: Au Délice Impérial, 1 Rue Grande, 011-33-1-64-22-22-70, a distinguished bakery-cafe on the Place Napoleon Bonaparte, and La Ferrare, 23 Rue de France, 011-33-1-60-72-37-04, a classic French cafe a few doors down from ReelBooks, an excellent English-language bookstore.
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