Three exhibitions currently on in châteaux of Île-de-France until January 2027: Écouen, Fontainebleau, Auvers-sur-Oise

Three château exhibitions to see before January: the rooftops of Écouen, Henri IV at Fontainebleau, Van Gogh at Auvers

Until 3 January at Auvers-sur-Oise, until the 11th at Écouen and until the 25th at Fontainebleau: three château exhibitions on roof ornaments, a Bourbon king and the legacy of Van Gogh.

Editorial journal · Carte des Châteaux · 15 November 2026

Time is running out for three exhibitions housed in châteaux in the Paris region: Auvers-sur-Oise closes its show on 3 January 2027, Écouen on the 11th, Fontainebleau on the 25th. None of them puts the château itself on display, and that is what makes them interesting. At Écouen, the focus is on what crowns the roofs: lead and terracotta figures that the restoration of the façades has brought down to eye level. At Fontainebleau, an ancestor whom Louis XVI brought back into the spotlight, Henri IV. At Auvers, a painter absent from the gallery walls: Van Gogh, seen through those who followed him. Here is what each one promises, what it offers, and how to fit them in before the final date.

VAL-D'OISE · Écouen

Château d'Écouen

The Château d'Écouen is a sixteenth-century château located in the Val-d'Oise that has housed the Musée national de la Renaissance since 1977. The building belongs to the Grande Chancellerie of the Légion d'honneur. The museum is under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture. Since 2005, the museum's director has been Thierry Crépin-Leblond, conservateur général du patrimoine. Over the centuries, a succession of notable artists contributed to making the Château d'Écouen an imposing monument: the architect Jean Bullant, the sculptor Jean Goujon, the potter and enamelist Bernard Palissy, the ceramicist Masséot Abaquesne, and the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart. It displays French collections from the Renaissance period across all artistic fields: tapestries, arms, sculptures, stained glass, ceramics, furniture, goldsmiths' work, paintings… In France, it is the only museum entirely dedicated to the Renaissance. According to the Comité d'expansion économique du Val-d'Oise, the Château d'Écouen is one of the department's leading tourist sites in terms of annual visitor numbers (in 2008, it was even the most visited site in the Val-d'Oise). It is located 19 km north of Paris and 15 km from Roissy airport.

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SEINE-ET-MARNE · Fontainebleau

Palace of Fontainebleau

The Château de Fontainebleau is a royal château in predominantly Renaissance and Classical styles, near the town centre of Fontainebleau, some sixty kilometres south-east of Paris, France. The first traces of a château on the site date back to the 12th century. The final building works were carried out in the 19th century. A landmark of French history, the Château de Fontainebleau was one of the residences of the French monarchs from François I, who made it his favourite home, through to Napoleon III. Several kings left their mark on the château's construction and history, making it a witness to the various phases of French history since the Middle Ages. Set within a vast park and adjacent to the Forest of Fontainebleau, the château combines elements of medieval, Renaissance and Classical styles. It bears witness to the encounter between Italian art and French tradition, expressed both in its architecture and in its interior decoration. This distinctive character is explained by François I's desire to create at Fontainebleau a "new Rome", in which Italian artists came to display their talent and to influence French art. It was in this way that the School of Fontainebleau was born, which represents the richest period of Renaissance art in France and inspired French painting until the mid-17th century, and even beyond.

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The grand horseshoe staircase in the Cour du Cheval-Blanc, Château de Fontainebleau — The horseshoe staircase in the Cour du Cheval-Blanc, dated 1632 and attributed to Jean Androuet du Cerceau. — Wikimedia Commons, licence CC BY 2.5

The Château d'Auvers, rue de Léry, in Auvers-sur-Oise — The Château d'Auvers-sur-Oise, a 17th-century residence turned exhibition venue. — Wikimedia Commons, licence CC BY-SA 2.0 fr

Sources

Musée national de la Renaissance: Couronner le ciel ↗Château de Fontainebleau: exhibition Le panache des Lumières ↗Sortiraparis: the Henri IV at Fontainebleau exhibition ↗Paris Zigzag: Marie-Antoinette is back at Fontainebleau ↗The Art Newspaper: Van Gogh, Influencer at Auvers-sur-Oise ↗info.fr: Van Gogh, an influencer at the château d'Auvers ↗Offi: Van Gogh influenceur, Héritages en mouvement ↗Paris je t'aime: Van Gogh, an influencer at the château d'Auvers ↗

Château d'Écouen

Palace of Fontainebleau

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