Fifth Day in Paris

We travelled by train to Chateau Fontainbleau. This castle was not as crowded as Versailles but just as amazing. This was built by French kings as a hunting lodge and then expanded to a full castle. This was also used by Napoleon as one of his main residences and places where he worked. Napoleon’s apartments are still set up as he left them. This is an amazing insight into the life of Napoleon.

The Pope stayed here on his way to Paris to crown Napoleon emperor after Napoleon issued him an invitation.

Napoleon ruled his empire from this castle for much of the time.

Napoleon signed his abdication in one of the rooms here. His bedroom, Josephine’s bedroom, his study, throne room, cabinet room, bathroom, and much more can be seen here. The unique horseshoe shaped front staircase was the location where Napoleon said goodbye to his faithful troops for the last time before boarding the coach which had come to take him to the island of Elba. This was a fantastic day. It is surreal to see the real location of these amazing events. This visit was an unexpected highlight of our trip so far.

We arrived back at our apartment after about 45 minutes on the train and decided to visit the Gourmet section of Galleries Lafayette to explore the French cuisine on offer for dinner. We found some delicious options and bought them for dinner.