Chateau de Fontainebleau

Fontainbleau is located 65 km south of Paris, by the A6 in fontainebleau, had the noblest garden in France. It was made for a king, Francis I, who wished to rival the great courts of Italy. Though the old knots and statuary have gone, enough of the 1528-1547 layout survives to give one a sense of how gardens were arranged in sixteenth century France. Francois had led an army into Italy and admired the gardens. He attaracted Italian artists to France, including Leonardo de vinci, and fostered Ranaissance culture north of the Alps. Romantic historious used to claim that James V’s first saw his future wife bathing naked in the Grothes des pines. The design for Fontainbleu was commissioned by Francois 1 and his daughter in law, Catherine de Medici. Both were great patrons of the arts Fontainbleau has suffered from neglect, alterations and used as a public park. The large trapezoid pond, formerly used for Auatic display, survives. It now has a banqueting pavillion on an island. The pond was shaped by the land form and formed a starting point for the design. The Cour de la Fontaine was focused on this pond and michaelangelo’s hercules stood in the cour. Other outdoor spaces have also been remodelled : the Jardins des pins, the Grand Jardin and the Jardin de la Reine. Le Notre designed a large parterre, between 1661 and 1664, on the site of the former Ground Jardin.
Contact Address
Chateau de Fontainebleau,
77300 Fontainbleau,
Ile-de-France
France
Ph: (1) 64 22 34 86
Opening Dates and times
All year : In summer : Daily :08.00-19.45 pm
In winter : Daily : 08.00-16.45 pm
Admission : Entrace fee