Chateau Rambouillet (”Napoleon’s Chateau”)

The Chateau de Rambouillet , is located in the town of Rambouillet ,Yvelines departement , France, 50 km (30 miles) southwest of Paris .

The Chateau was originally a simple fortified manor dating back to 1368 that over time was expanded to a Renaissance style chateau. It is where King Francois I died in 1547. Like the Hotel de Rambouillet in Paris, the chateau was owned by the Marquis de Rambouillet, during the reign of King Louis XIII of France . The wooded park was laid out with wide rides radiating from the chateau.

In 1783 the chateau became the property of the Crown, purchased for King Louis XVI , and from 1870 to 1883, the Chateau was leased to the duc de la Tremoille. In February 1896, Rambouillet received a visit from President Felix Faure who had decided to spend his summers there. Since then, Rambouillet has become the summer residence of Presidents of the Republic who entertain and give hunting parties for many foreign dignitaries, princes and heads of State. As a part-time residence of the head of state, it is sometimes referred to as the Palace of Rambouillet.

In November 1975 the first “G7″ summit was organized by French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing in the Chateau for the leaders of the world’s most industrialized countries. The then leaders attending were: Gerald Ford , United States, Pierre Trudeau , Canada, Harold Wilson , United Kingdom, Aldo Moro , Italy, Takeo Miki , Japan, and Helmut Schmidt , Germany.

The Chateau de Rambouillet continues to be used as a venue for bilateral summits and in February 1999 it was used to host the negotiations on Kosovo.