Compiegne

Compiegne was rebuilt as a palace under Louis XV and became a favourite residence of Napoleon I and later Napoleon III, whose court held long autumn house parties here; the apartments survive furnished, and the palace also holds a museum of carriages and early motor cars. The forest beside it covers around fourteen thousand hectares. In a clearing at Rethondes on 11 November 1918 the armistice ending the First World War was signed in a railway carriage; in June 1940 Hitler had the same carriage brought back to the same spot for the French surrender, then removed and later destroyed it. A replica stands in the memorial there.

What you actually see

• The imperial apartments - furnished rooms from the two Napoleonic courts.
• The carriage museum - historic coaches and early automobiles.
• The armistice clearing - the site of both the 1918 and 1940 signings.
• The forest - fourteen thousand hectares of woodland beside the town.

When to go

April to October; the palace closes on Tuesdays and the armistice memorial has its own hours. Autumn colour in the forest is good. November brings commemorations.

Honest expectations

The palace and the armistice site are several kilometres apart and need transport between them. The original carriage no longer exists; the one displayed is a replica. Some palace wings close in rotation.

Nearby

Pierrefonds lies east; Senlis is southwest.