Rambouillet Travel Guide

Adjacent to the Chateau is a huge complex of gardens and a large park that is now a public place. Though somewhat formalized in style, there are still some natural areas and it is quite lovely. As this was once used by Louis XVI as a hunting forest, it is not surprising to find this copper statue of Diana, the goddess of hunting in the park. There are lots of trails along canals and lakes and benches where one could picnic in nice weather. Even on a rainy October day we saw several people walking their dogs here.

I'm showing off using the word "quincunx." In the brochure I got at the chateau, it explains that this is "an arrangement of plants (as trees) in a regular checkerboard pattern, forming parallel paths that intersect at right angles." The one here is lovely and has a number of interesting statues within and around it. This particular quincunx is large leafed lime trees planted about 1710 and the composition is pretty much unchanged today. This statue stands at the center and is "Solar Boat" was done in 1993 by a Czech sculptor, Karel. It was originally intended for the Elysee in Paris, but Francois Mitterrand chose to place it here instead.

This is not as grand looking as some castles, but there are some astounding rooms inside. The whole tour is just over half hour and you see Napoleon's bathroom decorated with 6 painted panels and medallions commemorating his residences and victories (ah, vanity) and his tiny bathtub and Marie Antoinette's bedroom with all white sculpted walls, huge gold leaf framed mirror and pink marble fireplace surround. There is also the Marble Room with marble walls and a floor of 16th C Languedoc marble covered with a 70 square meter carpet that was 70 years in the making. It is all magnificent and I was glad to see such a place of beauty still in use as a Presidential Residence and for important conferences. Be sure also to tour the park and gardens.

In the Castle park is a beautiful Doric Pavilion, called the "Laiterie de Ia Reine," where Marie Antoinette and her suite used to partake of basins of fresh milk. In the background is a beautiful artificial Grotto, with a marble basin; in the centre is an exquisite marble statue of Venus entering the Bath, by Beanvallet. From a reservoir on the top of the building the water falls over her shoulders, and jets spout up from the pavement.

The Château de Breteuil has remained the property of the same family since it was built between 1604 and 1610. Previously, the same sitewas occupied by Gallo-Roman villas and later by a medieval fortress, of which only the pigeon tour remains. The Breteuil family closely served the kings of France throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. The ground floor, used at the present time for receptions, is decorated with rare portraits of Kings, numerous portraits of ministers, ambassadors, high-ranking officers and bishops who lived at the time of the Kings Louis XV and Louis XVI.

Open every day, all year round :
The gardens open at 10 am
The chateau opens at 2.30pm