Grand Parc de Château de Rambouillet

The Château de Rambouillet, which is the summer residence of the Presidents of France, is located in the town of Rambouillet, Yvelines département, France, 50 km (30 miles) southwest of Paris.

The château was originally a simple fortified manor dating back to 1368, which was expanded during the Renaissance, though it still retains its four-square bastioned footprint. Rambouillet is where King Francois I died in 1547. Like the Hôtel de Rambouillet in Paris, the château was owned by the marquis de Rambouillet during the reign of Louis XIII. The wooded park was laid out with wide rides radiating from the chateau. More than 200 square kilometres of woods remain, the remnant of the forest of Yvelines.