Rambouillet Castle - Rambouillet

Rambouillet

Open every day except Tuesday from 10am to 12pm and from 13:30pm to 18pm (17pm from 01/10 to 31/03). Closed on 01/01, 01/05, and 25/12 (the park remains open). The formal gardens are closed from 26/05/2026 to 19/06/2026 for path renovation work.

Rambouillet castle

The Château de Rambouillet has survived the Ancien Régime, the Empire, and the Republic. A presidential summer residence since 1895, it offers an ideal forest setting. Its famous owners—the Count of Toulouse, Louis XVI, and Napoleon I—have all left their mark.

The 14th-century fortified castle was gradually transformed by its owners into a pleasure residence that was acquired by Louis XVI in 1783. From its origins as a fortress, it has retained its bastioned outline and its keep from the XNUMXth century.

The former royal estate located in the heart of more than 20 hectares of woods was then a very popular hunting area with members of the Crown. Today the presidential estate periodically welcomes heads of state invited to France. During your visit, you will discover its astonishing interior decorations, such as those of the marble room but also its 000th century oak woodwork or its neo-Pompeian style decorations from the 1st Empire.

Imagine that it was at the Château de Rambouillet itself that François I died, that Charles X abdicated, that the "Précieuses" held their literary court in the XNUMXth century, that Louis XVI and Napoleon lived before the republic made it a presidential residence... Take advantage of the park and the French garden to stroll from long canals to ornamental lakes!

Walking through the park, you will discover the Shell Cottage, made by the Duke of Penthièvre for the Princess de Lamballe between 1779 and 1780. It is made up of mother-of-pearl decorations and European shells. Nearby is the Queen's Dairy, built for Marie-Antoinette at the request of her husband Louis XVI. At the time it was a tasting place.

A unique visit not to be missed! The shop is open every day except Tuesday.