A perfect day trip to Fontainebleau from Paris is easy, affordable, and an excellent alternative to Versailles for those who don’t love crowds.
Hi! It’s me! I’m the one who doesn’t love crowds.
That means I knew I wanted to prioritize a one-day trip to Fontainebleau from Paris during our long-term stay from our French home base in Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
Our trip was a little trickier than what I’ll get into here, as had some extra mileage to deal with from the ‘burbs.
That’s OK. That just means I know you’ll have an even shorter commute there to enjoy the impressive Château de Fontainebleau and all the rest the cute commune has to offer.
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Top Spots: Take a DIY tour of the Château de Fontainebleau, walk the chateau’s gardens, and indulge in lunch at Le Mansart.
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You can easily visit Fontainebleau for the day if you’re coming from Paris or the outskirts of Paris.
As far as how much time you need to visit Fontainebleau, that depends on what you want to do while you’re there.
We were there for the Fontainebleau castle, a nice meal, and some exploring around the charming French commune.
We were able to get through those tasks in about half a day, with a few hours spent at the castle itself.
If you want to do more, you can fill up a full day or even stay overnight. I’ll get into some suggestions for those with more time.
Fontainebleau is about 34 miles (55 kilometers) from Paris. The distance from Paris to Fontainebleau can be traveled in about an hour by car or about 40 minutes by train.
I’d highly recommend public transit for a day trip to Fontainebleau from Paris by train.
To get to Fontainebleau from Paris by train, follow these steps:
That’s it. You’re there.
If your endgame is the Fontainebleau chateau, you’ll take a bus (line 1) towards Les Lilas straight there. You should be on the bus for about 10 minutes, with eight stops before the castle.
I’ve read that the driver typically alerts passengers when they’re approaching the castle, but I have faith that you’ll know it when you see it.
You can also use your context clues and follow other tourists off the bus. You’ll know ’em when you see ’em.
As far as buying your tickets, you can purchase a Mobilis day pass or purchase separate train and bus tickets from Paris. A day pass costs €20.10, so you’re paying for convenience here.
That’s more than your palace ticket, by the way.
If you buy tickets separately, your ride from Paris Gare de Lyon will cost you €5 each way. You can purchase these at one of the many ticket machines at the station on the day of your travel. There are no assigned seats.
You’ll need to validate your ticket before getting on the train at one of the little machines at the foot of the stairs before you get to the platform.
You’ll do this automatically when you enter the station on your return trip. We did have someone checking for this on the way back.
A bus ride costs €1.90 each. You can buy an onboard ticket (these are more expensive) or purchase bus tickets at the train station and most newsstands around Paris. Yes, it requires some pre-planning, but you’ll save some money that way.
You can also walk to the chateau from the train if you want to be aggressive about it.
We love getting those steps, so we hoofed it to the Fontainebleau palace from the train station. It took us 38 minutes (I timed it) at a decent clip, so it’s not close by any means.
I will say it’s a nice way to get to know the town, and there are all kinds of cute shops and boulangeries to stop at along the way.
Watch the timetables for the Paris to Fontainebleau train and vice versa. On the Sunday of our Paris to Fontainebleau day trip, we were limited to service every half hour or so.
We had just missed trains on either end, which meant quite a bit of time wasted. Your Google maps will give you fairly firm times of when the trains are coming and going.
You can spend a day in Fontainebleau like this:
Most of you are probably here for the Château de Fontainebleau. That’s what drove our decision to visit on a Paris day trip.
Fontainebleau itself is nice, but if you come all this way and skip out on the main claim to fame here I’m not sure this is the right place for you. Are you trying to be edgy?
Let’s start with the history.
The chateau has been inhabited by 34 different kings, two emperors, and every queen in French history. Louis VII, Francis I, Henry II, Louis-Philippe, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Napoleon III all spent time here at one point.
Fun fact: There is no other chateau in France that can boast the fact that every French monarch has lived here at some point in time.
Historians date the property’s origins to somewhere between 1060 to 1108. It’s been the site of numerous historical events, including Napoleon’s abdication speech to supporters.
This is also where he signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau which sent him into exile on the Mediterranean island of Elba.
Today, the UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the largest French castles open to the public.
This place has 1,500 rooms, about 200 of which are open to the public, and 130 acres of green space and gardens. Much of what you’ll see inside is decor from the 16th century. While that’s not original to its 12th century beginnings, that’s still pretty darn old.
To visit the chateau, just go there. The grounds are free for you to explore at your leisure.
If you’re able, try to time your visit for a nice day so that you can spend your time strolling the Diana garden, the English garden, and the fountain areas outside.
Tickets to the inside of the royal residence are available upon arrival.
Don’t bother with tickets online at this one and resist the urge to purchase scammy “skip the line” tickets. There are no lines here.
Note: We accidentally arrived at the chateau on a free day, which happens on the first Sunday of the month. If I had gone through the website, I would have paid. There was no option for “free” online. I’m all about pre-planning, but this one really doesn’t need it. It wasn’t crowded even on a free day.
Tickets are self-guided unless you book a guided tour.
The guided tours looked pretty fun, especially if you’re visiting Fontainebleau with kids. On several of the tours available, your guide (or guides) are dressed up to fit with the royal theme throughout your tour. I love a little cosplay.
We went self-guided as our timing just didn’t fit with the available tour times that day. They also weren’t offering audio or video guides that day, but I didn’t feel like I missed out on too much.
We had done some pre-research on the site before our day trip, and the main signage for each room throughout the property was in English.
Inside, you’ll follow arrows as your guide through opulent rooms designed by French royals, including Marie Antoinette, and the property’s royal chapels.
You’ll start at the Napoleon I Museum. The spaces here are filled with a collection of furnishings, art, weapons, and artifacts related to Napoleon I’s reign. Pass through 10 rooms that tell the story of that period, including his abdication.
Napoleon I was forced to abdicate in 1814 after a series of unsuccessful invasions that led to a European alliance against him. Fontainebleau is where he signed a treaty that removed him from power and made it impossible for any of his heirs to take over.
Fun fact: Before hitting the road for exile in Elba, he made a farewell speech to his Old Guard out in the courtyard, which is often called the “courtyard of farewells.”
From there, you’ll double back to explore the Grand Apartments. This is where you’ll see the Francis I Gallery, a hallway with views of the gardens on one side and frescoes on the other.
The ballroom, queen’s bedroom, throne room, and Gallery of Diana follow. You won’t get to go inside that last gallery, but the view from just outside with that antique globe is a stunner.
We thought it was a library, but it was actually a place for royals to promenade and/or feel good about themselves, depending on the monarch in charge at the time.
The apartments of Napoleon are up next, but I found these to be less impressive than the queen’s bedroom. I suppose that might have given him a complex.
It took us nearly an hour to get through the interior spaces of the chateau, but a video guide would probably slow that down some. I know that some folks say to budget two hours for the self-guided tour, but that seems excessive.
I also read that you can spend a half-day just at the palace itself. That also seems excessive, especially if you visit in the winter as we did, but there are more activities on the grounds in the warmer months.
Canoeing, guided tours via horse-drawn carriage, and the Little Train (their words, not mine) are all available to you if you come in late spring through the summer.
While the Château de Fontainebleau is likely where you’ll spend the bulk of your time in Fontainebleau, there are more ways to fill your time if you’d like to linger.
Here are a few more ideas to add to your Fontainebleau things to do list:
There is a small café at the chateau that you can use to your advantage, but there are tastier and cheaper eats off the palace grounds.
We had an early lunch at Le Mansart to fuel up before the chateau. Prices were reasonable, service was friendly, and the food was fresh and delicious.
We shared a croque monsieur, beef tartare with fries, and a platter of herring and potatoes.
When the herring calls, I must answer. If you know, you know.
I haven’t even gotten to the convenience factor. The restaurant is a two-minute walk to the chateau. Let’s give this one applause all around, shall we?
Note: I read that another blogger just ate at the palace restaurant because they were there on a Sunday and everything was closed. We didn’t experience this, and we were there in the solid off-season on a Sunday. There were several eateries open well before noon for lunch, so don’t worry too much about that.
If you like variety, here are a few more options that looked good:
You can also grab sandwiches from any of the boulangeries in town like the highly-rated Boulangerie Patisserie Dardonville and bring them to the palace grounds.
We saw quite a few people noshing on casual lunches in this manner.
I mean, you’ll still be eating at a castle. It’s really not that casual.
It’s worth visiting Fontainebleau for its Napoleon-related history, massive size, and easy access from Paris. It’s also an easy trip to plan on your own without relying on guided tours.
If you’re planning other castle tours, like day trips from Paris to Vaux-le-Vicomte, it’s a great base for that, too. I’ve even seen travelers do both on the same day.
It’s lovely and easy to make happen is the point I’m making here. Plan a visit to Fontainebleau on your next Paris trip. I’m sure I’ll be back just to have a whimsical canoe ride on that pond.
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