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Musées et domaine nationaux de Compiègne

Although the origins of the royal residence in Compiègne merge with those of the French monarchy, it was in 1751, under the reign of Louis XV, that work was begun according to plans drawn up by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, which would give the château its present shape. “Compiègnes”, visits by the Court to the Imperial residence for a month or a month and a half in the autumn, date from 1856. They became the “series” which Napoleon III and the Empress Eugénie organized there, assembling about 100 guests for a week. These would last until 1869 and in 1927 justified the opening of the château as a museum dedicated to the Second Empire. The château also houses a Cars and Tourism national museum displaying a significant collection of animal-drawn vehicles and automobiles, from the earliest times up to the First World War.