Aerial view

The Château de Fontainebleau has become an icon of French history providing residency to a string of French monarchs such as Louis VII and Napoleon III. It is located within a beautifully verdant forest and is immediately surrounded by extensive landscaped gardens.

The master mason Le Breton carried out many works at Fontainebleau. From the uniformity of style in different parts of the building it is reasonable to suppose that he was the designer as well as the executant. Unfortunately, many parts have been altered or pulled down.

From the time of Francis I, the palace was surrounded by formal gardens, representing the major landscaping styles of their periods; the French Renaissance garden, inspired by the Italian Renaissance gardens; the French formal garden, the favorite style of Louis XIV; and, in the 18th and 19th century, the French landscape garden, inspired by the English landscape garden.