Tourist attractions Melun

Le Nôtre (1613-1700) can be said to have attained perfection in the art of French-style gardens, of which Vaux-le-Vicomte is an admirable example. Flower beds and box trees are laid out in arabesques called Turkish carpets, fountains play in the symm..

This château is one of the most handsome masterpieces of the 17C. It was built for Nicolas Fouquet by major artists such as Louis Le Vau, Charles Le Brun and André Le Nôtre between 1756 and 1661. At a party on 17 August 1661, Louis XIV became jealous..

The ancient forest of Bière has always been a magnificent hunting ground, particularly on horseback. Today, it is carefully maintained (it is divided into 747 plots tended so as to produce the finest specimens), and has signposted pathways throughout..

This château is at once evocative of the Renaissance, with its famous horseshoe staircase, and of the imagery of Épinal, with the poignant scene of Napoleon bidding farewell to the faithful soldiers of the Old Guard in Adieux de Napoléon . In 1528, ..

The tour of the Château de Fontainebleau 's Grand Apartments takes in the superb Galerie François I . Built between 1528 and 1530, the gallery is decorated with frescoes and stuccoes by Rosso. The king's emblem, the salamander, is omnipresent. Th..

Famous for its horseshoe staircase built by Jean du Cerceau under Louis XIII, this former bailey was used only by domestics, but its generous size soon earmarked it for official parades and tournaments. It became known as the White Horse Court after ..

Built around 1630, this typical Louis XIII château was remodelled in the 18C. The façade was embellished in the 19C with a replica of the Fontainebleau horseshoe staircase. Courances is primarily known for its park , one of the finest examples of a ..

Starting life as a 12C fortress, this building of five towers (the largest being its keep) evolved into a residence by the 15C-16C, but was downgraded to a simple farm in the 18C by its then owner, the Maréchal de Villars, who also owned Vaux-le-Vico..

Innkeeper François Ganne settled in Barbizon in 1822. His first customer was painter Théodore Caruelle from Aligny. Since then, the inn quickly became the meeting point of landscape artists. Currently, it has been transformed into the Barbizon School..

Built in the 16C for Cosme Clausse, Finance Minister to Henri II; Nicolas Clausse received Richelieu here when the Court resided at Fontainebleau. From the entrance, the courtyard’s majestic dimensions are striking, enclosed on the road side by an im..

Its cylindrical shape, cut at the summit by an oblique plane and crowned with 24 lime trees, like the use of brick, uncommon in religious architecture, integrates perfectly into the city centre of Evry, which made particular use of this material. The..

Built by Robert the Pious, with a façade remodelled in the reign of Francis I, the church is Renaissance in style. The Gothic arches of the nave were restored in the 19C. Note the early 15C flatstone in the right aisle. On the right, near the chancel..

In the courtyard stands the statue of Jacques Amyot, the Renaissance humanist, translator of the works of Pluto and tutor to the children of Charles VIII who was born in Melun.

A medallion portrait of Jacques Amyot is displayed on the façade of this house, his birthplace in 1513.

Its originality lies in the irregular shape, designed to allow for the irregularity of the ground. The church has fine 15C doorways and the first chapel in the north side aisle contains the cilice of St Louis.

This was one of Fouguet's residences, containing a number of lapidary vestiges and documents on old Melun.

This small island in the River Seine, now a botanical garden, is where King Robert the Pious built a castle given as a dowry to the «white queens», in other words the royal widows, given this name because of their long white veils.

The Maréchaussée (Marshalsea), whose name was derived from the fact that it was directly under the orders of the Marshals of France, became the «Gendarmerie nationale» (national constabulary) in 1791. The rooms display the uniforms, equipment and wea..

In this forest visitors will find a sports track and a pathway surrounded by ponds, both clearly designated. Or you can choose among a number of spots to relax.

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