Let me share with you my experience of the weekend: I finally visited the castle of Fontainebleau !
This castle dates from the XVI century (1528): it is a castle typical Renaissance, built by King Francis. The king destroy an ancient medieval castle and replaced it with this splendid Renaissance castle and gardens while opening ... The result: one of the finest elements of French heritage! For its projects, Francis has appealed to artists who introduce Italian and Italian style in France: for example he uses to decorate Rosso Fiorentino (See gallery Francis I, a room of 60 meters long in the Italian style ...). Fontainebleau castle is a little symbol of the reign of Francis I, a king who wants to promote the arts. Francis stores its art collections in the castle, and it is a way for him to impress foreign visitors and display its superiority as well.
After the death of Francis I, the castle of Fontainebleau was attended by all the kings of France over the years: Henry IV beautifies the home and extended several feet. There is also a landscape of palm playroom, Louis XIV built a theater and Louis XV did develop a theater, which burned in 1856. During the French Revolution, the palace became successively a barracks and then a prison. Napoleon and there is even sign his abdication in 1814.
(= that's the main staircase leading to the entrance of the castle ... The horseshoe staircase was built on plans of Philibert Delorme, the architect of Henry II, circa 1558. It was then rebuilt in the seventeenth century to facilitate the entry of carriages, or the shape of rounded to allow cars to run between its two flights ... The ramp is then adorned with the caduceus of Mercury, one of emblems of Louis XIII. 
