Fontainebleau Castle near Paris

Fontainebleau tour from Paris

You come to Paris for a minimum of three days. Visit Fontainebleau Castle, a Unesco world heritage monument, fifty kilometers south from the city.

The trip by car is a good option if you want to enjoy too the Fontainebleau Forest. It takes one to two hours. Take the A6 freeway at Porte d'Orléans. Avoid rush hour and its traffic jams. Stay overnight in Fontainebleau to hike.

The simplest way to visit Fontainebleau is an all day coach tour from Paris.

Paris to Fontainebleau by train

There are trains from Paris to Fontainebleau.

Take the train in Paris Gare de Lyon. The ride to Fontainebleau Avon train station takes 40 minutes. There is a 15' shuttle to Fontainebleau Castle. Locate Avon station on Fontainebleau map.

Check Paris to Fontainebleau train schedule and buy tickets.

Fontainebleau Castle visit

The Château de Fontainebleau is open every day except Tuesday, January 1st, May 1st and December 25th.

From October to March: 9.30 am to 5 pm (last access at 4.15 pm).
From April to September: 9.30 am to 6 pm (last access at 5.15 pm).

The park and gardens are open free of charge.

Buy Fontainebleau Castle ticket online.

History of Fontainebleau Castle

As the largest royal hunting forest, Fontainebleau has had the favor of the Kings of France since the 16th century. They had there one of their greatest castles alongside Versailles.

François I, the King who bought Mona Lisa from Leonardo Da Vinci, built most of the magnificent Renaissance Castle in the early 16th century. The castle was also a favorite of Emperor Napoléon who resigned there in 1814. Napoléon's throne room is one of the most visited rooms of the castle.

Napoléon and Fontainebleau

After having welcomed for centuries the kings and queens of France, the castle became the favorite residence of Emperor Napoléon I in early 19th century. The story ended when, defeated by the allies, he bade farewell there to the Imperial Guard before his first exile to the island of Elba in 1814.

The presence of Napoléon can be felt in the only room of the throne still visible in France, in the imperial apartments and at the horseshoe staircase. The Napoléon museum is also a key attraction of the castle. Occupying no less than 15 rooms of King Louis XV wing, it retraces his daily life, and the lives of those close to him, through a series of objects, weapons, ceramics, costumes, historical documents, paintings, sculptures and furniture, linked to the most famous French personality in the world.

Napoléon in Fontainebleau

Fontainebleau forest

One of the largest French forests with its 25000 hectares (250 km2), the Fontainebleau Forest, 50 km south of Paris by the A6 freeway, is a favorite of Parisian mountain climbers, who train there on weekends. Its rocky hills make the perfect training ground before mountain climbing in the French Alps.

With its many beautiful trails, the Fontainebleau Forest is also much appreciated by hikers and horse riders.

Fontainebleau forest map (pdf). Top Paris gardens.