Always a fan of castles, I have been blessed to be able to tour many castles, palaces and great houses throughout Europe and the Middle East. For the most part, they are all different. Two of the largest and most lavish have been Fontainebleau and Versailles in France. Both palaces were originally built as hunting lodges for the kings of France. So they were never owned by a member of the nobility or clergy and then confiscated by the king.
Of the two, I liked Fontainebleau the best. It was on more of a human scale than Versailles despite the fact that the building is actually more sprawling. Walking through it, I didn’t feel as likely to get lost as I did in Versailles. The layout of the rooms seemed to make more sense and the rooms themselves seemed smaller — cozier. Fontainebleau is also the older of the two, having been built in the 12th century and then enlarged and turned into a palace by Francis I in the early 16th century.
The palace has several items that had belonged to Napoleon as this was his last residence before he was deposed and exiled to Elba. He gave his farewell to the Old Guard from the horseshoe staircase outside of the palace. He had also imprisoned Pope Pius VII at Fontainebleau. When you look at the photo of the exterior of the palace, below, you can see the horseshoe staircase. The photo of Napoleon’s bedchamber I have included has a set of steps next to the bed. He was even shorter than I am at 5’2”. Maybe that’s why he was so feisty.
Versailles was initially built by King Louis XIII in 1624, then expanded between 1661 – 1715. The photos that are usually seen of the palace show fountains and/or gardens with elegant facades in the background. The original portion of the palace is central and on three sides of a courtyard. This is also the main entrance. The photo I have included here is of that portion of the palace. The fountains weren’t working on the day we were there, so I didn’t get any of those classic photos with the fountains gushing.
We had a whole day at Versailles, so had plenty of time to tour the main palace plus the Grand Trianon and the Petit Trianon. The Hamlet (a little peasant village created at the request of Marie Antoinette) was closed as it had been heavily damaged during a severe storm the prior December. Thousands of trees in the area had been uprooted. Winds at the Eiffel Tower had been recorded as high as 134 mph.
The Grand Trianon had been built by Louis XIV as a retreat for himself and his mistress. Subsequent kings often used it for the same purpose. But it was also used as a guest house for long-staying royal guests.
The Petit Trianon was originally built by Louis XV for his mistress, Madame de Pompadour. But she died before it was completed. Her successor, Madame du Barry lived there instead, followed by Louis XVI’s queen, Marie Antoinette. It became Marie Antoinette’s favorite retreat. During the Revolution, it was while she was at the Petit Trianon that she was taken captive before being imprisoned at l’Conciergerie in Paris.
During the Revolution, all of Versailles — the Palace, the Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon, the Hamlet — were ransacked and the furniture sold. Only the theatre survived. That was likely because it was a small, separate building, hidden by trees, that was most likely overlooked. It is the only building on the property that has survived intact from the 18th century, with no updates or restorations.
Napoleon mainly used Fontainebleau, although he did fix and up and use parts of Versailles, such as the Grand Trianon. But the main palace was sorely neglected. It wasn’t until the 1950s (when its potential as a tourist attraction was realized) that the palace began to be restored. I’m very glad it was. Versailles is very different from most other palaces I have visited. The closest to it that I have seen so far is the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia (now the Hermitage Museum).
