My first trip outside of Paris was a last minute decision to go to Château de Fontainebleau. We took the metro, a train, and a bus to get there. We also got lost walking, even though it’s a huge palace and we should have seen it from where we were. Once we arrived, it was obvious that we were in the right place. Fontainebleau is a beautiful palace that was the sovereign residence for eight centuries. It was the home of french monarchs from Louis VII to Napoleon III.
It took a few hours to walk around the palace. It has been converted into a museum with artifacts from different parts of history and the rooms are set up to still look like they were during the period they were used. I was surprised that Napoleon’s room was not as extravagant as the others. But we did get to see the last intact throne room in all of France. After we walked through the palace, we went outside to the gardens and explored the rest of the grounds. I got hissed at by a swan, but it was still cool.
