How to Visit Fontainebleau from Paris : a Local’s guide

How to visit Fontainebleau from Paris ? The Château de Fontainebleau is the ideal destination for a day trip as it is very easy to visit Fontainebleau from Paris! Located less than an hour from Paris, Fontainebleau is the most richly decorated of the French royal castles, and undoubtedly the one I liked the most!

It is a castle with many faces, bearing traces of all the sovereigns who have lived there, from Francis I to Napoleon III… Each one shaped the castle in their own way, while preserving the royal heritage of their predecessors. And that is what makes it so charming and unique!

So let me take you on a tour of Fontainebleau, the royal apartments, the park and the gardens for a green getaway just outside Paris… Follow me!

 

   

VISIT FONTAINEBLEAU FROM PARIS – PRACTICAL INFORMATION

   

• How to visit Fontainebleau from Paris ?

The Château de Fontainebleau is located 70 km southeast of Paris. You can visit Fontainebleau from Paris by car, it takes about 55 minutes from the center of Paris.

Compare car rentals to find the best price in Paris!

 

Fontainebleau is also accessible by public transportation. You can indeed visit Fontainebleau from Paris by train!

Take the R line from Paris Gare de Lyon to Fontainebleau-Avon (40 min), then take bus no. 1 in front of the station and get off at the “château” stop. The journey from the station to the château can also be done on foot (30 min).

 

• Where to stay in Paris ?

If you are visiting Fontainebleau from Paris, below is a selection of my favorite places to stay in Paris, based on the neighborhood you prefer and your budget!

Find your accommodation in Paris !

 

      

• Important information to visit Fontainebleau castle

Opening hours: every day except Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (6 p.m. from April to September) – park open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (7 p.m. in summer). Following the lifting of lockdown, the park will reopen on May 25, 2020, the gardens on June 2, and the château in early July.

Admission: €12 for access to the castle and apartments (free for students, children under 18, and job seekers). The castle is free for everyone on the first Sunday of the month, except from June to September. The park and gardens are free all year round.

Book your ticket for Fontainebleau!

For more information, visit the castle website !    

 

 

• How much time do you need to visit Fontainebleau?

Allow around two hours for the tour of the castle and 1.5 hours for the gardens. Please note that you can bring a picnic to eat in the park. So it is an easy day trip to visit Fontainebleau from Paris!

 

   

VISIT FONTAINEBLEAU FROM PARIS : THE CASTLE

   

• The architecture

The tour of the Château de Fontainebleau begins in the cour d’honneur, where a magnificent and rather unusual staircase in the shape of a horseshoe stands proudly. This grand staircase, which led directly to the apartments of François I, was where Napoleon I bid farewell to his guard in 1814 after his abdication. You will see that in Fontainebleau, history is everywhere!

You will also notice that the wings of the castle have very different architectural styles, built over time and according to different stylistic rules. Even the four courtyards of the castle each bear witness to the will of a sovereign, each imposing his own style, but always in keeping with its predecessors…

And even today, a certain harmony emerges from this ensemble, which is eclectic at first glance.

 

• The Grand Appartements

Let’s now step inside the castle! We will only visit a small part of it, as Fontainebleau has no fewer than 1,500 rooms! Dedicated to pomp and ceremony, the grand apartments are located on the first floor of the castle.

Most of the rooms have evolved over the centuries, with each king or sovereign liking to redecorate and redesign the rooms to give them new functions. The calm of the castle rooms, broken only by the sound of a clock that has been ticking away the seconds for centuries, sometimes gives the impression of being in a history book. It is easy to let your imagination run wild and travel back in time…

 

I also loved the historical anecdotes hidden in every room of the Château de Fontainebleau. You can almost see Napoleon lying in his office bed after a day of ruling—and where he even tried to poison himself after his abdication—or the birth of Louis XIII in 1601 in the salon that bears his name…

Some rooms have really marked French history! You’ll also see the pedestal table on which Napoleon signed his abdication in 1814.

 

You’ll undoubtedly be struck by the richness of the castle’s furnishings in Fontainebleau. The decor is absolutely magnificent, from the period furniture to the richly decorated ceilings and tapestries…

Among my favorite rooms are the former king’s bedroom, which Napoleon converted into a throne room, and the Diane Gallery. It is the longest room in the castle (80 meters long!), which now houses a huge library. But you can also visit the sovereigns’ apartments, the superb papal apartment, dedicated to prestigious guests, and the royal chapel of the Trinity!

   

• The Napoléon I Museum

You can visit the Napoleon I Museum after touring the Grand Apartments. It evokes the empire established by Napoleon and his domination of Europe, as well as his daily life. You will see many family portraits and decorative art objects from the period.

 

     

VISIT FONTAINEBLEAU FROM PARIS : THE GARDENS

   

 

 

The Château de Fontainebleau is surrounded by 130 hectares of grounds, including four courtyards, three gardens, and a huge park. Like the interior decoration, the park and gardens reflect a wide variety of styles and periods.

Let’s continue our tour with the nearby carp pond, where you can see a small pavilion. It was built by Louis Le Vau, none other than the brilliant architect of Versailles…

 

From the pond, you can then reach the English garden, a wild place teeming with rare trees and covered with flowering rhododendrons. And on the other side of the carp pond is the Grand Parterre. More classic in style, it was designed by André Le Nôtre, gardener at Versailles and also at Vaux-le-Vicomte.

It is a French-style garden, whose apparent simplicity is cleverly orchestrated by playing on perspectives and different levels. It then extends beyond the cascading pond with the huge castle park, crossed by the Henri IV canal, which is 1.2 kilometers long!

 

And on the other side of the castle—you may have spotted it when you arrived—is a charming garden of a completely different kind: the Jardin de Diane. Today, it is a small English-style landscaped garden, overlooked by huge, remarkable trees. It was once closed and very intimate, as it was reserved for the Queen!

 

     

VISIT FONTAINEBLEAU FROM PARIS – WHAT TO DO AROUND ?

   

– Fontainebleau Forest (5 minutes away): this magnificent forest is quite surprising, with its expanses of white sand and climbing rocks that look like huge cannonballs. The Fontainebleau Forest has long inspired Impressionist painters and photographers, and today it is popular with sports enthusiasts for outdoor activities and families for hiking. Find out more on the blog!

– Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte (25 minutes away): it’s no surprise that Vaux-le-Vicomte was the envy of Louis XIV! The magnificent building is enhanced by its huge gardens designed by André le Nôtre. In summer, you can also enjoy a beautiful candlelit evening, ending with fireworks.

– Provins (1 hour away): this pretty medieval town is another perfect getaway for a day trip from Paris. Read about my visit to Provins on the blog!

If you’d like to explore other destinations to get away from Paris, check out my articles on the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, the Château de Versailles, Chantilly and its château, the Basilique de Saint-Denis!

 

If you also use Pinterest, follow me on this network: La Marinière en Voyage – and don’t forget to pin this article so you can find it easily!