Fontainebleau Walking Tour
Fontainebleau, France
Why Walk Fontainebleau
The Palace of Fontainebleau was a residence of French monarchs from Louis VII in the 12th century to Napoleon III in the 19th — a span of 800 years that makes it arguably richer in history than Versailles. The palace blends medieval, Renaissance, and Classical architecture, and its forest — one of the largest in the Ile-de-France — offers world-class rock climbing on sandstone boulders and miles of walking trails.
Free Fontainebleau Walking Tour with Roamee Pro
Roamee Pro offers a free Fontainebleau walking tour with audio narration. Explore Grand Apartments, Gallery of Francis I, Napoleon's apartments, plus hidden gems like Forest of Fontainebleau and Barbizon, without booking a group tour.
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Must-See Stops in Fontainebleau
- •Grand Apartments — the royal apartments spanning eight centuries of French monarchs
- •Gallery of Francis I — a Renaissance gallery with frescoes and stucco work that influenced French art for centuries
- •Napoleon's apartments — the rooms where Napoleon signed his abdication in 1814
- •Horseshoe Staircase — the iconic curved staircase in the Cour du Cheval Blanc where Napoleon bid farewell to his guard
Hidden Gems in Fontainebleau
- •Forest of Fontainebleau — 25,000 hectares of forest with sandstone boulder fields popular with climbers worldwide
- •Barbizon — a village on the forest edge where pre-Impressionist painters like Millet and Rousseau worked
Walking Tip
The palace is less crowded than Versailles and reachable by train from Paris in 40 minutes. The forest is best explored by car or bicycle.
Best Time to Visit
April through October. The forest is beautiful in autumn. The palace is closed Tuesdays.
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