# Fontainebleau

The palace of Francis I and Napoleon, free gardens, a sandstone forest for walking and climbing and Barbizon, the painters' village.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/ile-de-france/fontainebleau · Revisado: 2026-11-12

## How do you get there from Paris?

By train on line R from the Gare de Lyon to Fontainebleau-Avon: about 40 minutes with the ordinary Metro-Train-RER ticket, €2.55 in 2026. The station is in Avon, about three kilometres from the palace; the line 1 bus drops you next to it. By car it is about 70 km on the A6, an hour without traffic.

If you fly from Spain, Orly is the most practical: metro line 14 goes direct from the airport to the Gare de Lyon, where the trains leave. From Charles de Gaulle you have to change at Châtelet.

The train is enough for the palace, the gardens and the town. For the forest and for Barbizon, which are a quarter of an hour away by car, it is best to have a car: the starting points of the routes and the climbing have no public transport.

## What to see in a day?

The palace in the morning: two hours for the Gallery of Francis I, the ballroom, Marie Antoinette's apartments and Napoleon's throne room. Then the gardens, which are free: Le Nôtre's Grand Parterre, the Carp Pond and the Grand Canal. In the afternoon, the forest: the Franchard gorges or the walk to the Tour Denecourt, or else Barbizon and its painters' museum.

With two days, the pace changes: one day for palace and town, another for the forest, with the bouldering introduction if it falls on a Saturday. Fontainebleau lends itself to a night's stay: it is a quiet town, with good restaurants, and at night there are no tourist coaches.

## How much does it cost and which day should you go?

Admission to the palace costs €17 (€15 reduced). Under-18s and EU residents aged 18 to 25 enter free, and everyone on the first Sunday of each month, except July and August. It is open from 9:30 to 18:00 from April to September and until 17:00 from October to March. Closed on Tuesdays: if you want to combine it with Versailles, which is closed on Mondays, Monday is a good day for Fontainebleau and Tuesday for Versailles.

The courtyards, gardens and park are free every day. Dogs may not enter the courtyards or the gardens, even on a lead; in the park, around the Grand Canal, they can.

## What about the forest?

The Fontainebleau forest surrounds the town: thousands of hectares of pines, oaks and sandstone boulders that have made it a place of pilgrimage for bouldering. After the fires, the tourist office says it is 90% open, but some sectors remain closed, including the Trois Pignons, the Faisanderie and Apremont. Before setting out, check its interactive map. Stay on the marked paths, don't smoke or light fires, take your rubbish with you and call 18 if you see smoke.

## Where to eat and sleep?

On rue Grande, steps from the palace, Le Cadran, the brasserie of the Hôtel Napoléon, opens every day except Tuesday. Gina, at the Hôtel de Cavoye, opens daily and has brunch on Sunday. For something special, L'Axel, Kunihisa Goto's French cooking with a Japanese soul. For a picnic, the palace gardens allow it on a blanket.

To sleep, the Hôtel & Spa Napoléon, a former coaching post with an indoor pool, and the Hôtel de Cavoye, from the same house, smaller and quieter.

## Dónde está
- Cerca: Vaux-le-Vicomte (a 17.9 km), Provins (a 47.3 km), Disneyland Paris (a 52.2 km), Paris (a 56.4 km)

## Qué hacer
- **The Palace of Fontainebleau, from Francis I to Napoleon** (2 h · All ages; large pushchairs and rigid backpack baby carriers are not allowed in, front baby carriers are lent · Ticket €17 · reduced €15 · audio guide €4 · guided tour €7 plus entry): Eight centuries of kings in a single palace: the Gallery of Francis I, the Renaissance ballroom, Marie Antoinette's apartments, Napoleon's throne room and the Napoleon I museum. Napoleon called it "the house of the centuries", and it was here that he bade farewell to his guard in 1814, on the horseshoe staircase of the Cour des Adieux.
Tickets
A ticket costs €17 (€15 reduced) and gives access to the Grand Apartments and the Napoleon I museum. It can be bought online or at the ticket desk on the day. Free for under-18s and for EU residents aged 18 to 25, and for everyone on the first Sunday of every month, except in July and August. The audio guide costs €4 and guided tours €7 plus the entry fee; in English, in summer only.
Opening hours
From 9:30 to 18:00 from April to September and from 9:30 to 17:00 from October to March, with last entry three quarters of an hour before closing. Closed on Tuesdays, 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. Allow two hours and start before 15:00 in summer or 14:00 in winter: the rooms close progressively.
- **The palace gardens and the Carp Pond** (1 h 30 · All ages · Free): The palace courtyards and gardens are free and open every day: the Grand Parterre drawn by Le Nôtre, one of the largest in Europe, the English garden with its grotto, Diana's garden and the Carp Pond, with its pavilion in the middle. Beyond, the park and the Grand Canal, which is open 24 hours.
Opening hours
November to February, 9:00 to 17:00; in March, April and October, 9:00 to 18:00; May to September, 9:00 to 19:00. Diana's garden and the English garden close half an hour and an hour earlier. The park never closes, although the Marrier gate is shut from 19:30 to 9:00.
Picnics and dogs
You can picnic on a blanket on the ground, with no tables or chairs. Dogs are not allowed in the courtyards or gardens, not even on a lead; in the park, around the Grand Canal, they are, on a lead.
- **Introduction to bouldering in the Forest of Fontainebleau** (3 h · From age 7, no experience · Adults €42 · ages 7 to 9 €34): The Forest of Fontainebleau is one of the places in the world where bouldering was born: thousands of sandstone rocks a few metres high, without a rope, with a crash pad underneath. This introduction is the way to try it with a professional instructor.
What it is like
A mid-afternoon session in a sector of the forest with an instructor from Climb With Us, who brings the climbing shoes, crash pads, brush and chalk. You bring sports clothes and water. It is run in French. The dates are Saturdays at 13:00: 14 November 2026 and, in 2027, 20 February, 13 and 27 March, 10 and 17 April, 1 and 22 May and 5 and 19 June. Book at the tourist office, online or on +33 1 60 74 99 99.
What you need to know
The meeting point is in the forest and cannot be reached by public transport: you need a car. If it has rained, the session is cancelled: wet sandstone is fragile and slippery.
- **Forest walk to the Tour Denecourt** (2 h · Families and walkers · Free): The Tour Denecourt is a stone lookout tower at the top of the Rocher Cassepot, north of the town, named after Claude-François Denecourt, the man who in the 19th century laid out and waymarked the forest's first trails. From the top you see the sea of trees that surrounds Fontainebleau.
Before you go
The forest is 90% open, but following the fires some sectors remain closed, such as the Trois Pignons, the Faisanderie and Apremont. The tourist office has an interactive map of what is open. Stay on the marked paths, do not smoke or light fires and take your rubbish with you. To report a fire, call 18.
- **Barbizon and the painters' museum at the Auberge Ganne** (2 h · Adults and teenagers): In the 19th century, a group of painters settled in Barbizon, on the edge of the forest, to paint outdoors: Théodore Rousseau, Millet and the others of the Barbizon school, who paved the way for the Impressionists. They stayed at the Auberge Ganne and left its walls and furniture painted.
The museum
The departmental museum of the Barbizon painters occupies the former Auberge Ganne, at 92 Grande Rue, and Théodore Rousseau's house-studio. It is open every day except Tuesday, from 10:00 to 12:30 and from 14:00 to 17:30, until 18:00 from April to October. It closes on 1 May, 24 and 25 December and 1 January.
The village
The Grande Rue has stone houses, galleries and Barbizon's tourist office, at 84 bis. It is about 10 km from Fontainebleau by road through the forest: you need a car.
- **The Gorges de Franchard** (2 h · Families with children who walk; shoes with a sole · Free): A landscape of piled-up sandstone blocks, pines and heather, with viewpoints over the dry valley and paths that wind among the rocks. It is the place where you best understand why boulderers come from all over the world to Fontainebleau. Children love scrambling up the lower rocks.
Before you go
Before setting out, check the map of open sectors at the tourist office: after the fires there are closed areas in the forest. You need a car to reach the forest car parks. Bring water; there are no fountains.

## Dónde comer
- **Le Cadran, at the Hôtel Napoléon** (Restaurant, Fontainebleau · Rue Grande, €€). Qué pedir: French brasserie cooking on the terrace of the former coaching courtyard
- **Gina, at the Hôtel de Cavoye** (Restaurant, Fontainebleau · Rue Paul Séramy, €€). Qué pedir: the Sunday brunch, from 11:30 to 14:00, for €45
- **L'Axel** (Restaurant, Fontainebleau · Rue de France, €€€€). Qué pedir: the lunch menu, the most affordable way to try Kunihisa Goto's cooking

## By plane: Fly to Paris and take a train to Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau can be done from Paris without a car: you fly to Orly or Charles de Gaulle, with direct flights from the main Spanish cities, and from Gare de Lyon a train puts you in Fontainebleau-Avon in about 40 minutes. For the forest and Barbizon, though, a car helps.
### Dónde dormir if you're flying
- **Hôtel & Spa Napoléon** (Spa hotel): A former coaching inn on Rue Grande, the main street, a few minutes' walk from the palace entrance. Today it is a four-star hotel with a spa and brasserie, and the most convenient option for sleeping next to the palace.
The rooms
45 renovated rooms and 10 suites, with high-end beds and marble bathrooms, between the house's Napoleonic air and today's comfort. The buffet breakfast, with the house's cakes and pastries, is served from 7:00 to 10:00 for €19.
The spa
The Cinq Mondes spa has an indoor pool and treatment rooms. It is what turns a night in Fontainebleau into a getaway: palace in the morning, forest in the afternoon and spa before dinner.
Getting there and parking
There is a drop-off area in front of the hotel and an agreement with the Interparking Napoléon, on Place Napoléon Bonaparte, a hundred metres away: €15 a day when booked through the hotel. By train, from Gare de Lyon to Fontainebleau-Avon and bus 1 to the centre.
- **Hôtel de Cavoye** (Hotel): A four-star hotel designed as an elegant, discreet house in the centre of Fontainebleau, a few minutes' walk from the palace, the gardens and the shops of Rue Grande. It belongs to the same group as the Hôtel Napoléon.
The rooms
27, of which six are suites: from the 17 m² single to suites of 47 and 48 m², some with a terrace. Contemporary decor, light tones and warm materials. Check-in is from 15:00.
Eating in
On the ground floor is Gina, a Mediterranean restaurant and bar, open every day, with a terrace and Sunday brunch.
Booking
Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before arrival, but only when booking on its official website.
### Servicios
- **Fontainebleau-Avon station**: Line R from Paris Gare de Lyon · about 40 minutes · bus 1 to the palace
- **From Orly or Charles de Gaulle to Fontainebleau**: To central Paris with the airport ticket (€14) and a line R train from Gare de Lyon

## Car-free: Fontainebleau by train
The palace, gardens and town are done by train and on foot: line R from Gare de Lyon and bus 1 from the station. The forest is another matter: without a car, stick to the palace park and the trails that leave from the town.
Presupuesto orientativo: 100–200 € por persona y día.
### Dónde dormir without a car
- **Hôtel & Spa Napoléon** (Spa hotel): A former coaching inn on Rue Grande, the main street, a few minutes' walk from the palace entrance. Today it is a four-star hotel with a spa and brasserie, and the most convenient option for sleeping next to the palace.
The rooms
45 renovated rooms and 10 suites, with high-end beds and marble bathrooms, between the house's Napoleonic air and today's comfort. The buffet breakfast, with the house's cakes and pastries, is served from 7:00 to 10:00 for €19.
The spa
The Cinq Mondes spa has an indoor pool and treatment rooms. It is what turns a night in Fontainebleau into a getaway: palace in the morning, forest in the afternoon and spa before dinner.
Getting there and parking
There is a drop-off area in front of the hotel and an agreement with the Interparking Napoléon, on Place Napoléon Bonaparte, a hundred metres away: €15 a day when booked through the hotel. By train, from Gare de Lyon to Fontainebleau-Avon and bus 1 to the centre.
- **Hôtel de Cavoye** (Hotel): A four-star hotel designed as an elegant, discreet house in the centre of Fontainebleau, a few minutes' walk from the palace, the gardens and the shops of Rue Grande. It belongs to the same group as the Hôtel Napoléon.
The rooms
27, of which six are suites: from the 17 m² single to suites of 47 and 48 m², some with a terrace. Contemporary decor, light tones and warm materials. Check-in is from 15:00.
Eating in
On the ground floor is Gina, a Mediterranean restaurant and bar, open every day, with a terrace and Sunday brunch.
Booking
Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before arrival, but only when booking on its official website.
### Servicios
- **Fontainebleau-Avon station**: Line R from Paris Gare de Lyon · about 40 minutes · bus 1 to the palace
- **From Orly or Charles de Gaulle to Fontainebleau**: To central Paris with the airport ticket (€14) and a line R train from Gare de Lyon

## By car: Fontainebleau by car, with the forest and Barbizon
With a car, Fontainebleau is much more than the palace: the forest, with its sandstone rocks, and Barbizon, the painters' village, are a quarter of an hour away. From Paris it is about 70 km on the A6.
Presupuesto orientativo: 110–210 € por persona y día.
### Dónde dormir if you're driving
- **Hôtel & Spa Napoléon** (Spa hotel): A former coaching inn on Rue Grande, the main street, a few minutes' walk from the palace entrance. Today it is a four-star hotel with a spa and brasserie, and the most convenient option for sleeping next to the palace.
The rooms
45 renovated rooms and 10 suites, with high-end beds and marble bathrooms, between the house's Napoleonic air and today's comfort. The buffet breakfast, with the house's cakes and pastries, is served from 7:00 to 10:00 for €19.
The spa
The Cinq Mondes spa has an indoor pool and treatment rooms. It is what turns a night in Fontainebleau into a getaway: palace in the morning, forest in the afternoon and spa before dinner.
Getting there and parking
There is a drop-off area in front of the hotel and an agreement with the Interparking Napoléon, on Place Napoléon Bonaparte, a hundred metres away: €15 a day when booked through the hotel. By train, from Gare de Lyon to Fontainebleau-Avon and bus 1 to the centre.
- **Hôtel de Cavoye** (Hotel): A four-star hotel designed as an elegant, discreet house in the centre of Fontainebleau, a few minutes' walk from the palace, the gardens and the shops of Rue Grande. It belongs to the same group as the Hôtel Napoléon.
The rooms
27, of which six are suites: from the 17 m² single to suites of 47 and 48 m², some with a terrace. Contemporary decor, light tones and warm materials. Check-in is from 15:00.
Eating in
On the ground floor is Gina, a Mediterranean restaurant and bar, open every day, with a terrace and Sunday brunch.
Booking
Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before arrival, but only when booking on its official website.

## As a family: Fontainebleau with children

Fontainebleau is one of the easiest palaces with children, because the forest is next door. A morning in the state rooms and an afternoon scrambling over sandstone rocks is the plan that works best.

### What works best
The bouldering introduction, from age 7

The Gorges de Franchard, for scrambling on the low rocks

The gardens and the carp in the pond

The palace, with Napoleon's throne room

### Where to stay
Hôtel & Spa Napoléon, with an indoor pool

### Where to eat
Picnic in the palace gardens, on a blanket

### Bear in mind
Large pushchairs are not allowed in the palace; front baby carriers are lent

Under-18s, free at the palace

Bring water to the forest: there are no fountains

### Qué hacer as a family
- The Palace of Fontainebleau, from Francis I to Napoleon
- The palace gardens and the Carp Pond
- Introduction to bouldering in the Forest of Fontainebleau
- Forest walk to the Tour Denecourt
- The Gorges de Franchard

## With teenagers: Fontainebleau with teenagers

For teenagers, Fontainebleau is above all the forest: the world capital of bouldering, where climbers come from everywhere. The palace goes down better told through Napoleon.

### What works best
The bouldering introduction with an instructor

The Gorges de Franchard, among the rocks

The palace and Napoleon's Farewell staircase

### Where to stay
Hôtel de Cavoye, in the centre, to go out on foot

### Where to eat
Gina, in the centre, open every day

### Bear in mind
EU residents aged 18 to 25, free at the palace

No climbing in the rain: wet sandstone is fragile

### Qué hacer with teenagers
- The Palace of Fontainebleau, from Francis I to Napoleon
- Introduction to bouldering in the Forest of Fontainebleau
- The Gorges de Franchard

## Consejos

### Combine it with Versailles
Versailles is closed on Mondays and Fontainebleau on Tuesdays: plan the week around that.

### A car for the forest
The train leaves you in the town; the routes and the climbing start in forest car parks.

### Check the forest map
After the fires some sectors are closed. The tourist office publishes which.

### Don't climb in the rain
Wet sandstone breaks and is slippery; leave the bouldering for another day.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How do I get from Paris to Fontainebleau?
On the line R train from the Gare de Lyon to Fontainebleau-Avon, about 40 minutes, and the 1 bus to the palace.

### How much does it cost to enter the palace?
€17, free for under-18s and EU residents aged 18 to 25.

### What day is Fontainebleau palace closed?
Tuesdays.

### Are the gardens free?
Yes, the courtyards, the gardens and the park.

### Is the forest open?
90% of it; some sectors remain closed after the fires.

### Can I go with a dog?
To the park and the forest, on a lead; to the courtyards and gardens of the palace, no.