Description: The town of Fontainebleau is ideal for a short vacation or a weekend break in an atmosphere of tranquillity and peacefulness. If Paris is rich with cultural attractions and great for shopping, Fontainebleau is an appealing destination for nature lovers and environmentalists. If you want to enjoy the true atmosphere of Fontainebleau and revitalize your mind after the hustle and bustle of Paris, you are advised to stay here for at least two days, possibly three.
Unlike the formal landscaped gardens at Versailles, the wooded gardens and parks at Fontainebleau are less formal, less trimmed and more evocative of wild greenery. Within a short walkable distance from the chateau’s parks, the forest of Fontainebleau is a pleasant place for a stroll along one of the numerous marked trails, some of which are easily navigable in a couple of hours (referred to as petites randonnees de pays or PRP), others long enough to take you from Fontainebleau to nearby towns or villages (referred to as grandes randonnees de pays or GRP).
Frequent trains from Lyon station in Paris take about one hour to reach Fontainebleau’s Avon station. From here, you can take a local bus that links the station with central Fontainebleau and passes through Boulevard Magenta, one of the avenues that border the chateau’s gardens. To get a good orientation of the city before you make your way into the gardens, consider walking the two kilometres distance from the station to the chateau. As you exit the station, walk southwest on Boulevard Marechal Foch for about 10 minutes until you reach the crossroads. Continue straight on Rue Grande for a further 10 minutes and you will soon see one of the gates leading to the chateau’s gardens in front of you.
Fontainebleau’s tourist office is on Rue Royale, a short distance away from the chateau. It sells clear-cut maps of the gardens and provides free brochures with information about the chateau. Those who intend to walk in the forest are advised to lay their hands on one of the information guides that are for sale at the tourist office. ‘Trekking and Climbing in Fontainebleau’ is highly recommended since it lists all the marked walking trails in the area and the range of difficulties one encounters on the way. It also identifies spots suitable for climbing and gives details about their respective level of exertion. In addition to this, the tourist office sells tickets for entry to the National Museum of Prisons (guided tours only, 8 euro) and the Napoleonic Museum of Art and Military History (2.50 euro).
Most visitors start their trip of Fontainebleau with a stopover at the chateau and its surrounding parks and courtyards. Admission to the gardens is free and access is gained through one of several gateways located at intervals along the avenues that border the chateau’s gardens. Walking from the train station for 20 minutes, I came face to face with one gate that allowed entry to the Jardin de Diane, a good-sized garden cut across by scores of gravel passageways that are skirted with rows of hedging plants and bushes. The most appealing attraction within the garden is Diana’s fountain, the monumental centrepiece being a graceful figure of Diana, goddess of hunting, with one hand embracing a majestic stag. On the supporting pedestal, four hunting dogs gush forth jets of water. A symbol of Fontainebleau, the statue of Diana stands to demonstrate the great hunting potential the forest of Fontainebleau formerly enjoyed among French monarchs.
An arched passageway leads from the Jardin de Diane to the Jardin des Adieux, a lawned courtyard from where one can climb up via a magnificent double staircase to the palace. From here, Napoleon Bonaparte bid farewell to his aides on 18 April 1814 shortly before his first abdication. From here, another passageway leads to the informal Jardin Anglais, a huge unadorned green space embellished with numerous pathways that twist and turn between rare species of exotic trees. One pathway running east puts you straight near the Etang des Carpes, a huge artificial lake where shoals of carp abound. Visitors can hire a paddleboat and paddle around but beware…. fishing not allowed. On the small adjacent Cour de la Fontaine, one usually finds an open-air cafeteria selling, guess what?.....coffee, drinks and light snacks.
East of the Etang des Carpes, the Grand Parterre sits on a lower level and can be reached via a flight of steps. Designed by Andre Le Notre during the reign of Louis XIV, it is a formal French-style garden with geometrically patterned lawns, hedgerows trimmed to the finest detail and colourful flowerbeds. A square-shaped ornamental pond occupies central stage and its majestic centrepiece is a graceful statue of the Roman emperor Tiberius.
Further east, the Grand Cascade, also designed by Le Notre is a splendid arched structure embellished with numerous niched statues. Water gushing out from hundreds of water jets that surround the fountain is directed towards the centrepiece – an eagle protecting its prey. The Grand Cascade leads to Fontainebleau’s main park, a lawned spot ideal for picnicking. Along one side of the park, a huge waterway called the Grand Canal, slopes gradually eastwards receiving the water that overflows from the numerous fountains and ponds scattered here and there within the gardens. To avoid flooding, this water is carried from here to the Seine through a complex underground system known as ‘exutoire’.
At some time or other during your visit, make sure to step inside the chateau to see its architectural treasures, paintings, décor and thousands of precious objects that have been preserved throughout the centuries. Although the chateau at Fontainebleau epitomizes seven centuries of the history of French royalty, it was never inhabited on a permanent basis by French monarchs. Used only as a temporary residence, particularly during the hunting seasons in spring and autumn, it was nonetheless one of France’s largest royal residences and one of the most richly decorated.
Entry to the chateau is through Cour des Adieux from where a double-horseshoe staircase leads to the elegant doorway. Visitors can only visit a few rooms but these are unquestionably the most outstanding both for their aesthetic beauty as well as for their historical value.
One room which is definitely a must-see is Galerie Francois I, a valuable gem of Renaissance architecture filled in with Mannerist-style mural decorations, stuccowork and sculpted bas-reliefs. The Florentine artist Rosso Fiorentino, later joined by the Bolognese painter Francesco Primaticcio was responsible for the design and implementation of all the ornamental work inside. Twelve magnificent fresco panels framed with elaborate stuccowork depict mythological narratives. Visitors seem to congregate near the ‘Nymph of Fontainebleau’ admiring the elongated figure and graceful look of the sea goddess. My favourite fresco shows the monarch in full dress holding a pomegranate. The stuccowork is dotted here and there with a repeated figure of a salamander, a symbolic emblem of King Francois I.
The Salle de Bal, a thirty-metres-long ballroom that offers outstanding views of the gardens from its huge windows is similarly decorated with more fresco panels and elegant marquetry flooring. While going around the ballroom, make an attempt to discover the monograms H & D thrown here and there among the decorations. H stands for the initial of Henri II who succeeded King Francois I, D is the initial of Diane de Poitiers, his lover.
One other room worthy of inspection is the Salle du Trone, a richly decorated hallway where the extravagant use of gold is mixed with shades of green and yellow to produce a wonderful composition of surprisingly appealing contrasts. The historical value of the Salle du Trone cannot be overlooked since it was here that Napoleon signed his first abdication document, a copy of which is also on display here. Within the State Apartments, the spectacular Chapelle de la Trinite is a historical gem, highly ornamented with late Renaissance paintings, frescoes and numerous bas-reliefs characterized by fine details and elegance. On the other hand, the Small Apartments are mostly reminiscent of Napoleon and contain collections from his personal belongings, his uniforms, swords and other war memorabilia.
Although Fontainebleau no longer welcomes French kings as it did for seven centuries, it remains nonetheless an impressive palace of great historical significance and magnificent Renaissance artworks. The surrounding parks and gardens impart an atmosphere of grandeur and stateliness to the complex. A stroll in the adjacent forest, particularly early in the morning is a pleasant way to end your magical tour of Fontainebleau.
Timetable for gardens:
Daily: November to February 9:00am to 5:00pm
Daily: March, April, October: 9:00am to 6:00pm
Daily: May to September: 9:00am to 7:00pm
Timetable for chateau:
Daily: October to May 9:30am to 5:00pm
Daily: June to September: 9:30am to 6:00pm
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