Saturday was castle day for Jennifer and Alison. We hit the road bright and early and headed towards the Château de Pierrefonds, just under two hours away. Because we got there just after it opened, we pretty much had the entire castle to ourselves. We joined a guided tour already in progress - to make a total of 4 visitors. Our guide was really nice and shared with us all sorts of details about the castle.
It was first a medieval fortress built in the 15th century by Philippe d'Orléans. The castle was later destroyed on order of Louis XIII. Viollet-le-Duc, the 19th century architect responsible for the restoration of many of France's cathedrals, was the architect for the castle under the reign of Napoleon III. The castle is an interesting mix of the Middle Ages and Renaissance styles. Pierrefonds was never completed. There are only a few rooms that have been decorated, and since it was never permanently inhabited, there is very little furniture. Our guide explained that the hunting parties would arrive with their furniture in tow, settle in for a while, and then pack up everything when they moved on.
2 comments:
Castle touring is so fun! I did a ton of that in Ireland. How I long to go back! .. and yes, I know this is France. :P
Jeffie, let's meet in Ireland in the Spring. Seriously.
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