What To Do Near Château Fontainebleau

Fabulous Places to Visit Near Château Fontainebleau 

Stunningly impressive Château Fontainebleau is one of the largest Medieval royal chateaux in France, and because it's only 55 km, or about 40 minutes, from Paris, it's a perfect château for a day visit from Paris. Originally a royal abode, the State now manages Château de Fontainebleau. The château and gardens were built in the 12th century as a medieval keep and later used as a hunting lodge by Louis XII, also known as Saint Louis.

What to do near Château Fontainebleau

If you're planning a visit to the Château, and want to know what else there is to do in the area, read on. This post shares the fabulous places to visit near Château Fontainebleau.

Fontainebleau Forest - An Outdoor Paradise

A perfect place for rambling walks and rock climbing because of its unusual rock formations, is Fontainebleau Forest. It covers a whopping 25,000 hectares and offers a lot to the outdoor enthusiast. Of course it makes good sense to explore the forest when you visit the Château as it surrounds the Château's grounds. The forest has been the inspiration for artists for hundreds of years and still attracts painters and artists in search of peaceful landscapes to work in, or as a source of inspiration. You might even see the next Albert Sisley creating their masterpiece!

The forest is a protected area and it safeguards over 1,200 species of animals and plants, including oaks, European beeches, chestnut trees and birches.

You'll find hiking trails, mountain bike trails, dedicated horse riding and rock climbing trails as well as the beautiful Gorges de Franchard ravine which attracts both expert and novice hikers. Get more information on the Fontainebleau Tourism website.

Fontainebleau Tourism official website: http://www.fontainebleau-tourisme.com/

Barbizon - A Picturesque Town

Another lovely place to visit near Château Fontainebleau is Barbizon. This picturesque cobbled town is just 10 kilometres northwest of Fontainebleau and through the ages has been a small hamlet of woodcutters. The town is home to the Auberge Ganne with its cute red checked curtains, which was a popular inn with painters from Paris who would stay overnight after working in the forest during the day. 

The Auberge Ganne is now a museum where you can see paintings on the inn’s walls and furniture by poor painters who offered a painting in exchange for a bed for the night. There's no repainting of the walls happening here!

The history of art is strong in this town, with artists Jean-Franois Millet, Théodore Rousseau and Camille Corot having formed part of the École de Barbizon (1830-1870), an unofficial collective that rejected the strict ideas of formal beauty upheld by the Académie.

Moret Sur Loing - A Medieval Fortified Village

Moret Sur Loing is a medieval fortified village with narrow cobbled streets running through it. Only 10 kilometres southeast of Fontainebleau it is famous for being the village where Impressionist painter Alfred Sisley lived. Sisley was born and raised in France by English parents and spent his last 20 years in the area surrounding this village.

Sisley unfortunately did not see great success during his lifetime, even though he was strongly supported by Monet and Renoir.

Recommended activities in this village include visiting the locations made famous by Sisley. You can follow in his footsteps with guides available from the Seine et Marne Tourist Office. Another nice thing to do in this lovely village is to spend time along Loing River - take a picnic, meander along the pathway or simply read a book in the sun. 

Official tourism office website: https://www.msl-tourisme.fr/en/msl-tourist-office.html

Grez sur Loing - A Sleepy Village

Now heading south of Fontainebleau we come to the sleepy village of Grez sur Loing.  The village was made famous by its expansive bridge immortalised on canvas in 1860 by Camille Corot. Still popular with artists a decade later in 1870, it was the sought after place by many artists who were drawn to its natural ambiance including, Carl Larsson and his wife Karin Bergöö. Their house still stands today and you can visit it from the outside.

Next to do in Grez sur Loing is to see the Tour de Ganne, or simply Tour Ganne. It's a former fortified tower which is all that remains of the keep of the old medieval castle. You'll find the tower on the left bank of the Loing River.

This sleepy village is where Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Treasure Island in 1883.

Visit the Mairie, or town hall, to view the collection of paintings on display including canvases by Édouard Doigneau and Camille Pissaro which hang on the meeting room walls. 

So when you plan next to visit Fontainebleau, consider allowing extra time to explore the surrounding areas now that you know what to do near Château Fontainebleau.

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