Les incontournables de Fontainebleau

Fontainebleau Highlights

Fontainebleau's history spans eight centuries of French monarchy, centered on the Renaissance and Classical architecture of its UNESCO-listed palace. Beyond the royal apartments, the region preserves the 19th-century Barbizon School of landscape painting through preserved artist studios like those of Jean-François Millet and Rosa Bonheur. The surrounding forest, once a royal hunting ground, features dramatic sandstone rock formations and elevated viewpoints at Gorges d'Apremont and Croix du Calvaire, alongside historic religious sites like the 11th-century Saint-Pierre church in Avon.

Fontainebleau Highlights — Carte

ignis / CC-BY-SA-3.0

A

Palace of Fontainebleau

Palace of Fontainebleau, located 55 kilometers southeast of the center of Paris, in the commune of Fontainebleau, is one of the largest…

B

Palais et Parc de Fontainebleau

This UNESCO World Heritage site encompasses over 130 hectares of gardens and parkland, including a Grand Canal and French-style gardens designed by André Le Nôtre.

C

Musée départemental de l'École de Barbizon

Housed in the former Auberge Ganne, this museum displays 19th-century landscape paintings and original furniture decorated by artists who stayed here, such as Théodore Rousseau.

Yann Gwilhoù / CC BY-SA 3.0

D

Prieuré Notre-Dame de Franchard

The remains of a 12th-century monastic retreat located in the heart of the forest, once the oldest religious establishment in the Fontainebleau woods.

Thesupermat / CC BY-SA 3.0

E

Église Saint-Louis

A 19th-century Catholic church featuring a facade designed by architect Alexis Paccard and a reliquary containing a fragment of the True Cross.

Prosopee / CC BY-SA 3.0

F

Musée Stéphane-Mallarmé

The former summer home of symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé, preserving his personal belongings, furniture, and literary works within a 19th-century setting.

G

Musée de l'atelier Rosa Bonheur

The Château de By, otherwise the Musée de l'atelier Rosa Bonheur is a museum run by a private owner, Katherine Brault, in the French…

H

Musée Millet

The former home and workshop where Jean-François Millet lived for 27 years. It displays original drawings and etchings from the master of the Barbizon School.

I

Croix du Calvaire

A scenic vantage point marked by a stone cross, offering panoramic views over the town of Fontainebleau and the surrounding forest canopy.

J

Point de Vue des Gorges d'Apremont

An elevated viewpoint overlooking a rugged section of the forest characterized by chaotic sandstone boulders, heather, and ancient oaks.

Own work / CC BY-SA 3.0

K

Église Saint-Amand

A 13th-century Gothic parish church located in Thomery, featuring historic stained glass and medieval architectural elements.

Remi Jouan / CC-BY-SA-3.0

L

Église Saint-Pierre

The oldest church in the Fontainebleau area, dating to the 11th century. It houses the tomb of Gian Domenico Monaldeschi.