Weekend Stroll: Château de Rambouillet in the Parisian Suburbs 🏰

👉🏻 As summer approaches, taking a train to visit some of the royal French castles in the Parisian suburbs on the weekend is both convenient and delightful. 👉🏻 The Château de Rambouillet, located in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, is super accessible. Just a 30-minute train ride from Paris Montparnasse station followed by a 10-minute walk. 👉🏻 This 14th-century castle boasts 20,000 hectares of royal gardens. Staff at the Château de Rambouillet explain that from the Middle Ages to the present day, it has attracted many great figures in French history, including Napoleon I and the President of the French Fifth Republic, witnessing the changes of time and the ebb and flow of history. 👉🏻 The renowned François I stayed overnight here after hunting in the castle's forest and passed away in this very place. Subsequently, King Louis XVI and Charles X both lived here. 👉🏻 The Duke of Anjou, son of the Sun King Louis XIV, purchased the Château de Rambouillet in 1706 and began renovations to make the castle more comfortable for royal family members to live in year-round, making it the closest French noble castle to Versailles. 👉🏻 In the 20th century, this former royal castle estate became a venue for important international events held by the President of the French Fifth Republic. 👉🏻 The Château de Rambouillet has hosted visiting foreign heads of state and important international conferences. For example, in 1975, under the initiative of then-President Giscard d'Estaing, the first Group of Six (G6) summit was held at the Château de Rambouillet. The dining room used during the summit and the presidential suites of the attending heads of state from countries like the United States and the United Kingdom are still preserved and open to the public. 👉🏻 The royal gardens within the park surrounding the castle are also very beautiful and vast. A 20-minute walk will lead you to a dairy building named after Queen Marie Antoinette and a unique cabin entirely decorated with shells. Along the way, you'll see wildflowers covering the ground, calm geese, and many ecstatic dogs. You can also rent boats to row beside the castle. 👉🏻 Another day well spent. #ParisBucketList #WhatToDoInTheParisianSuburbs #ParisBucketListSpots #Paris #ParisDaily #ParisArt