Thirty years ago Belgian businessman Dominique Janssens and his family were passing through the village of Auvers-sur-Oise when they were rear ended-right in front of the Auberge Ravoux where Vincent Van Gogh spent the last days of his life. In this village of 7,000 souls Van Gogh produced an astonishing 80 works in the last 70 days of that all too brief life that he took on the 29th day of July 1890.

With over 1500 rooms on 130 acres of parkland and gardens Fontainebleau is the only royal and imperial chateau to have been continuously inhabited over seven centuries, A visit opens up an unparalleled view of French history, art history and architecture.

Flush with money after the extraordinary success of the film Beauty and the Beast in 1947, Jean Cocteau and his lover and star, Jean Marais, moved into this house near Fontainebleau, in the village of Milly-La-Foret.

With its three chateaux, gardens and parks, Versailles is an immense estate. Louis XIV the Sun King is the creative force of Versailles. He turned Versailles into a sumptuous estate and the symbol of absolute monarchy in the 17th century.

Situated in Normandy, the village of Giverny is world-wide known for Claude MONET’s house and atelier.

Before Versailles there was Vaux-le-Vicomte.