— Overview
The notes walk a ring of châteaux and a royal basilica around Paris, and they stop at Saint-Denis.
— Contents and key concepts
Fontainebleau, a hunting ground and a courtyard
About a hundred kilometres southeast of Paris by car, the notes write, one reaches a town called Fontainebleau, thickly wooded and well known as an outing for Parisians. There stands the famous palace, a chief hunting ground of French kings, rebuilt several times by kings including François I, until it took the finished form one sees.
The result brings architectural styles from Romanesque to Renaissance into a harmonious whole. Napoleon I was very fond of the palace; it was in this courtyard, they write, that he was stripped of the imperial crown and sent into forced exile on Saint Helena.
Malmaison, Rambouillet, and Compiègne
Other historic châteaux lie scattered in the capital region. Malmaison, seventeen kilometres west of Paris, was Josephine’s residence; Napoleon’s relics are shown there. The house itself was built in the seventeenth century by Cardinal Richelieu, and Napoleon visited Josephine there whenever he returned from a campaign.
Rambouillet, which he also used as a workplace, is described in the notes’ then-present as a special summer residence of the president of the Republic — kept in that window, not offered as an unofficial listing for 2026. A little north of Paris stands Compiègne, which they call the largest château in France after Versailles and Fontainebleau. Louis XVI met his future wife, Marie Antoinette, there in 1770; Napoleon III received notables there with formal courtesy. Versailles appears in this stretch only as that size comparison.
Saint-Denis, and no farther
In the northern suburbs, at Saint-Denis, one may visit the basilica where most French kings, up to Louis XVIII, lie. It was a building attached to an abbey built by Dagobert, an early Gothic prototype that also became a typical model for Chartres.
The notes leave the ring of sites at that basilica. On CampusDown, the same Korean report runs at fuller length.
Sources
- The notes, a student walk around châteaux and a basilica near Paris: Fontainebleau, rebuilt from Romanesque to Renaissance, and the courtyard from which Napoleon left for Saint Helena; Malmaison, Josephine, and Cardinal Richelieu; Rambouillet in the notes’ then-present; Compiègne, where Louis XVI met Marie Antoinette in 1770; and Saint-Denis, an early Gothic model for Chartres, where kings up to Louis XVIII lie.
Last updated: 15 November 2026
Frequently asked questions
What do the notes keep for Fontainebleau?
About a hundred kilometres southeast of Paris by car, they write, one reaches a town called Fontainebleau, thickly wooded and well known as an outing for Parisians. There stands the famous palace, a chief hunting ground of French kings, rebuilt several times by kings including François I, until it took the finished form one sees. The result, they say, brings architectural styles from Romanesque to Renaissance into a harmonious whole. Napoleon I was very fond of the palace; it was in this courtyard, they write, that he was stripped of the imperial crown and sent into forced exile on Saint Helena.
Which other châteaux in the capital region do they name?
Malmaison, they write, lies seventeen kilometres west of Paris and was Josephine’s residence; Napoleon’s relics are shown there. The house itself was built in the seventeenth century by Cardinal Richelieu, and Napoleon visited Josephine there whenever he returned from a campaign. Rambouillet, which he also used as a workplace, is described in the notes’ then-present as a special summer residence of the president of the Republic — a remark kept in that window, not offered as an unofficial listing for 2026. A little north of Paris stands Compiègne, which they call the largest château in France after Versailles and Fontainebleau. Louis XVI met his future wife, Marie Antoinette, there in 1770; Napoleon III, they add, received notables there with formal courtesy. Versailles is named in this stretch only as that size comparison.
Where do the notes stop?
In the northern suburbs, at Saint-Denis, one may visit the basilica where most French kings, up to Louis XVIII, lie. It was a building attached to an abbey built by Dagobert, an early Gothic prototype that also became a typical model for Chartres. The notes stop there.
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