- Visit the museums
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Self-Guided Tours
Guided Tours
These visits are carried out by speakers from the Réunion des Musées Nationaux (extra charge in addition to entry fee)
At the exit to the imperial apartments, visitors of the Château de Compiègne are given the opportunity to continue their discovery of the history of the reign of Napoleon III by visiting the Museums of the Second Empire. Located in the same place where the famous ‘Séries’ were held, with their prestigious guests such as the prince and princess of Metternich and the Baron Haussmann, the Museum of the Second Empire and the Museum of the Empress bring the memory of this period back to life through a unique collection of its kind.
In counterpoint to the Museum of the Second Empire, the Museum of the Empress reveals the private life of the sovereigns. This collection, started by Doctor Ferrand, brings together moving examples of the everyday life of a family with an extraordinary destiny, from the birth of the Empire to exile in England after 1870, and to the death of Empress Eugenie in 1920. The descendants of the imperial family have enriched it with numerous items that were religiously preserved by the Empress herself –relics of a past that forms part of France’s history. The rich collections of the graphic arts cabinet are presented on a rotating basis in the rooms of the Museum of the Empress.
