Visiting Château de Fontainebleau From Paris
Château de Fontainebleau is a popular day excursion from Paris located 55km southeast of the city. The trip takes about an hour by train and bus, and costs 5€ for the train and 1€ 70 for the bus. Once there, you can tour parts of the château or spend your time wondering the surrounding 130 acres of gardens and parkland. Current admission price to tour the château is 13€, and are available here, while wondering the park and gardens is free.
Fontainebleau is a 1500 room castle that has been inhabited by 34 French sovereigns from the 12th to the 18th century. You’ll revisit the lives of Francis I, Marie Antoinette and Napoleon I, among many others. The self-guided tour features Renaissance masterpieces, lavishly decorated interiors, and the state apartment.
How to Get From Paris to Château de Fontainebleau
The easiest way to get to Château de Fontainebleau is by train – it’s direct and pretty straightforward. Trains leave from Gare de Lyon station in Paris, so you’ll need to get there first by Metro lines M, 1 and 14, or by RER-A or RER-D trains.
Once you exit the Metro station, look for signs to the train station (Trains Grandes-Lignes). You shoudn’t get lost, but it’s not 100% clear, so be aware that you’re looking for Hall 1.
Exit your metro train and head upstairs toward Trains Grandes-Lignes (you’ll likely go left at the top of the stairs).
Continue heading up to Hall 1 of the main train station at ground level.
Find a white & purple SNCF ticket kiosk, usually located against a wall or pillar.
Once you’ve found Hall 1, look for the SNCF ticket kiosks and purchase a ticket for Fontainebleau-Avon; it shoud cost 5€. Watch for the platform announcement on the screens. You’re looking for your train in the direction of Migennes, Montargis or Montereau – all three of these trains will take you to Fontainebleau-Avon.
From the train station, you can walk the 45-60 minutes into town or take the local bus for a 15 minute ride and get dropped off right outside the gates of Château de Fontainebleau. Note that you won’t actually see the château from here so pay attention to the bus-stop announcements, watch the map inside the bus, or get off when everyone else does. We opted for the bus, which you’ll see as soon as you exit the train station (it’s straight ahead – just follow the purple footprints). You’ll take the Ligne 1 (line 1) bus in the direction of Les Lilas until you hear the stop called “Château” is announced. As mentioned earlier, the bus ride costs 1€ 70 so have your change or Navigo card ready.
The château is back in the direction of the rear of the bus, and across the street. You’ll find a black iron gate with “Château de Fontainebleau” written on it. This is the entrance to the gardens, so you can enter here and follow the path to the right. Alternatively you may choose to travel along the road until you come to the main gates of the château (note that you’ll pass the bus-stop for your return trip on the way).
Tips For Buying Train Tickets
Train tickets to Fontainebleau-Avon are not sold at the metro stations, so you’ll have to purchase it at the train station. The ticket kiosks are white and purple, and have SNCF written on the side. The ticket kiosks accept both cash and card.
If you have trouble finding a ticket kiosk, or Fontainebleau-Avon on the screen, find a helpful information agent (they’re everywhere) and they’ll guide you through the whole process. A great tip they gave us was to buy our return tickets at the same time, meaning we bought 4 one-way tickets (2 each). That way we could avoid waiting to purchase our return tickets at the station when we were ready to go home.
Be sure to keep your ticket for when you exit the station at the other end so you can exit the station!
Touring Château de Fontainebleau
Château de Fontainebleau is a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it deosn’t take long to see why. First used as a medieval royal hunting lodge in the 12th century, it was expanded into a palace in 1528 by François I. Throughout the 16th – 18th centuries the palace was expanded and modified as each successive King placed their stamp on Fontainebleau.
The self-guided audio tour leads visitors thorugh 3 main areas of the palace:
- The Napoleon Museum – a collection of furniture, artwork and portraits that once belonged to Emperor Napoleon I and his family.
- The Pope’s Apartment – An apartment reserved for distinguished guests, its name is derived from Pope Pius VII who visited Fontainebleau in 1804 and 1812.
- The Great Apartments – Several functional rooms, galleries and apartments recalling key events which took place at Fontainebleau.
Follow along wth us in the below video for the highlights of our tour. Be sure to turn on closed captioning for descriptions throughout the tour!
I hope this ovderview and video inspired you to go visit Château de Fontainebleau for your self. It’s a lovely palace with a fraction of the crowds you’ll encounter at Versailles. Plus, the surrounding village is delightful!
What was your favourite part of the tour? Let me know in the comments below!
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Be sure to comment below and let me know what other French châteaus we should visit!
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Resources
Here is a list of the resources mentioned in this post:
Château de Fontainebleau – Get more information and book your tours.
UNESCO World Heritage Site – Find out why Château de Fontainebleau is now a protected site
Watch the YouTube video – Follow along with us as we tour the château!
I wish I would have known about this when I was in Paris years ago. It sounds like it would have been a great day trip to take, especially at that price!
I was so glad this stop was recommended to us; definitely well worth a visit
There are so many things to see and explore in the Paris area! I have been there before, but I spent my time in the city and never ventured very far away from the central attractions. I need a return visit!
You’re so right Bryan! Paris is overloaded with amazing things to visit, multiple visits are essential 🙂
Nnniiiccceeee…I didn’t know about the Napoleon Museum till just now. Now, I badly want to tour it.
It’s really interesting how much of the Paris area has Napoleon’s fingerprints on it!
I am eager to explore and catch a glimpse of the beauty of this castle. I think it’s an awesome place to visit.
It’s a great place to visit, both inside and out!
So many rooms in this castle and the surrounding garden is fabulous. Jaw-dropping doesn’t even begin to describe yourr initial reaction.
You’re so right Beth! There was so much history and beauty around every corner
What an impressive place to visit. So much history and architecture. I would love to see this in person.
Definitely well worth a visit for anyone who loves history and architecture!