Palace aforethought

The next day we take a tour around Fontainbleau gardens. Having missed breakfast, I’m very hungry and find a cafe selling strong coffee and the world’s most expensive croissant.

French pastry in a palace courtyard comes at a price

It's hotter than hot and we dart along avenues of trees and behind topiary to keep out of the sun. The palace is a splendid backdrop. Originally a medieval castle, it was built around between 1528 and 1547, by Francis l, in the Renaissance style recently imported from Italy. The palace was expanded by son Henry ll and his queen, Catherine de Medici, then added to over the centuries. Latterly Napoleon established himself there, as befitting his imperial ambitions (and it was at Fontainebleau that the emperor abdicated in 1814).

Royally elegant view across the carp pond

The topiary calls to mind an episode of Dr Who

Il y a trop de monde au balcon…

The following day, when the others head back to the UK, I stay on in Fontainbleau and head inside the palace to tour the apartments.

There's gold in them there halls

Lofty halls with chequered marble floors and tall windows run the length of the building, leading to cosier apartments brought vividly to life with rich, embroidered velvets, intricately patterned parquet floors, ornately carved ceilings and impossibly extravagant four-poster beds, including the one slept in by Marie Antoinette, which contrasted nicely with the simple fold-up contraption Napoleon used on his military campaigns.

“Let them eat cake; I'm off to bed”

“Not tonight, Josephine”

It's a wonderful thing to visit a place like this on a wet and windy Monday, as I often find myself almost completely alone in the chateau's lavishly decorated chapel, or its magnificent library, stretching on for at least 100 yards.

Renaissance gallery of Francis 1: bevelled mirrors in empty halls

Eventually, it's time to catch a suburban train to Paris and the Eurostar terminal. Let's face it, there's only so much opulence you can take in one day.