Fontainebleau Forest (Foret de Fontainebleau)
Fontainebleau Forest (Foret de Fontainebleau)
Fontainebleau Forest (Foret de Fontainebleau)
4.5
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This 49,000-acre forest is one of the biggest in France.
Duration: More than 3 hours
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4.5
707 reviews
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Very good
183
Average
17
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3
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Etienne
Milly-la-Foret, France333 contributions
Aug 2023 • Family
An enchanting forest. The landscapes are varied, sometimes we are among ferns and rocks, then in an oak grove. Today we wanted relief, we went to the so-called massive part of the three gables: it’s superb.
Written 15 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fredrik A
Sydney, Australia27 contributions
Jul 2013 • Family
Fontainebleau Forest is a vast area about 50 km South of Paris, more or less South west of the small village of Fontainebleau. There are a lot of Walking possibilities in the forest (I recommend you to buy a detailed map), most of them well marked. But for non french the forest is mostly known for its rock climbing.
There are four or five big areas of climbing in Fontainebleau Forest, and a number of small. If you want to know more you should buy a book for also that - there are a number of English and German versions. A lot of first time climbers goes to Elephant, but if you climb with kids I would recommend you to rather go to Trois Pignon.
The best is to have a car if you want to go to Trois Pignon, that is an old sea bottom Vulcano. You can walk the full round on the edge which is a 6 hour walk (for a resonably fit person), up and down on the "25 bosses".
Inside the edge there are a number of very good climbing areas at all levels, from kids to experts. If you (like me) climb with kids I recommend you Cul du Chien, 91.1 or Diplodocus, but there are others that are also good.
There are four or five big areas of climbing in Fontainebleau Forest, and a number of small. If you want to know more you should buy a book for also that - there are a number of English and German versions. A lot of first time climbers goes to Elephant, but if you climb with kids I would recommend you to rather go to Trois Pignon.
The best is to have a car if you want to go to Trois Pignon, that is an old sea bottom Vulcano. You can walk the full round on the edge which is a 6 hour walk (for a resonably fit person), up and down on the "25 bosses".
Inside the edge there are a number of very good climbing areas at all levels, from kids to experts. If you (like me) climb with kids I recommend you Cul du Chien, 91.1 or Diplodocus, but there are others that are also good.
Written 15 July 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
murf1968
Brunswick, GA104 contributions
Jun 2015
Please...do not take the bus from the train station to the chateau, otherwise you will miss this lovely green space. Walk up to avenue Franklin Roosevelt through the town of Avon. Take a left on avenue des Carrousses...this will put you at the corner gate of the forest. The, enjoy the lush beauty, trees waving in the breeze and the silence of nature. On you way back to the train, walk down the grand canal to enjoy the other side of the forest. Exit the forest on Rue du Montceau and enjoy the lovely little neighborhoods on you way back to the train station. I always navigate with my GPS enabled map on my cell phone...even if you have no phone service, keep your phone in airplane mode to save battery life and enable the GPS function...enjoy!
Written 23 June 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MrsHManchester
Manchester38 contributions
Aug 2016 • Family
I spent ages wondering whether to go here. We have plenty of forests back at home so I wasn't sure whether we would really get a whole lot out of it.
Firstly, the tourist office in Fontainebleau itself is really good - we drove in to find out where we actually go in the forest. We got a helpful map, there are basically about 16 different trails you can go on (there are probably thousands but these are your basic tourist ones). We picked number 8 as it was rated easy and had some boulders for our three year old. We then drove to the start point as highlighted and off we went. The car park was huge and mostly deserted which for peak season was surprising. The walk was stunning, I mean absolutely stunning in a totally different league to our local forests back home. The bouldering was great fun and our three year old was hooked. You follow the routes by looking for little blobs of yellow paint which can be very tricky to spot, I've seen some other reviewers say 'buy a map' and I can see why - if you're doing a longer one, it would be essential.
It was such an enjoyable walk we even went back the next day. For someone umming and ahhing about whether to go in the first place, you can see why I'm giving it five stars.
Firstly, the tourist office in Fontainebleau itself is really good - we drove in to find out where we actually go in the forest. We got a helpful map, there are basically about 16 different trails you can go on (there are probably thousands but these are your basic tourist ones). We picked number 8 as it was rated easy and had some boulders for our three year old. We then drove to the start point as highlighted and off we went. The car park was huge and mostly deserted which for peak season was surprising. The walk was stunning, I mean absolutely stunning in a totally different league to our local forests back home. The bouldering was great fun and our three year old was hooked. You follow the routes by looking for little blobs of yellow paint which can be very tricky to spot, I've seen some other reviewers say 'buy a map' and I can see why - if you're doing a longer one, it would be essential.
It was such an enjoyable walk we even went back the next day. For someone umming and ahhing about whether to go in the first place, you can see why I'm giving it five stars.
Written 11 August 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
William R
London, UK31 contributions
Aug 2016 • Family
Fontainebleau Forest is a very large place that feels quite remote given how easy it is to reach from Paris (45 mins from Gare de Lyon on Île de France Line R). There is a wide range of activities available here, such as hiking, mountain biking and bouldering. The boulders make the scenery interesting and varied (and the paths more exciting). We began the viewpoints walk, however found it flat and much less challenging than we hoped as we have hiked a fair amount in the past, so we followed the trails which take a similar route but are more interesting (Trails 3, 3-2, and 2 (marked blue)). I would STRONGLY ADVISE the possession of an IGN Map, it is worth the 8 Euros. The trails are well marked but without a map the markings mean nothing, so if you lose your way you will get confused and probably lost without a map. A problem with some of the routes from the tourist office is that they are difficult to point out on the IGN map. Even the woman at the tourist office highlighted the wrong route on the map when we asked her to highlight the route for us. If you are competent, it can be much easier to follow the numbered 'sentiers' on the IGN map which are easier to understand and follow once you are in the forest.
I highly recommend visiting both the town of Fontainebleau and the forest if you wish to get out of Paris for a day, as it is easy to reach and has wonderful scenery. But even if you are told that you don't need a map by anyone but just to follow the markers, this makes far too dependent on them, so buy the map. It will open up so much more of the forest to you.
I highly recommend visiting both the town of Fontainebleau and the forest if you wish to get out of Paris for a day, as it is easy to reach and has wonderful scenery. But even if you are told that you don't need a map by anyone but just to follow the markers, this makes far too dependent on them, so buy the map. It will open up so much more of the forest to you.
Written 6 August 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kip B
Yuba City, CA118 contributions
Nov 2013 • Solo
I've been in Northern France for my work and my family is coming over for a few weeks and we all enjoy hiking so I wanted to find a place for us to go. I drove a little over 2 hours to get there and it was worth it, to me, but if you aren't in love with being in nature in general then don't go. It was difficult to find since there are no signs in town and my Tom Tom GPS didn't show it no mater how I searched for it (even with address). I was aggravated but had nothing else to do so since I stubborn I finally found a good access point.
Large moss covered rocks and tall ferns everywhere, beautiful and very tranquil. I climbed onto some rocks and just sat there for 20 minutes without hearing anything but wind. There are obvious main paths but you can easily make your way through the deeper areas or follow trails others have left. very hard to get lost.
Here is the address for where I parked:
Foret Domaniale de Fontainebleau
Boulevard du Marechal Foch
77300 Fontainebleau
France
This is the location that my phone's GPS showed as my position.
Large moss covered rocks and tall ferns everywhere, beautiful and very tranquil. I climbed onto some rocks and just sat there for 20 minutes without hearing anything but wind. There are obvious main paths but you can easily make your way through the deeper areas or follow trails others have left. very hard to get lost.
Here is the address for where I parked:
Foret Domaniale de Fontainebleau
Boulevard du Marechal Foch
77300 Fontainebleau
France
This is the location that my phone's GPS showed as my position.
Written 9 November 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Amitai R
Tel Aviv, Israel14 contributions
Aug 2013
With my family staying in Paris for a 2 week holiday, we wanted to get out of the city a bit and 'connect with nature'. We drove close to an hour and started at the visitor's center (4 Rue Royale, Fontainebleau) to get a map and instructions where to start our little hike. We had a great stroll on the trail marked in yellow which takes around 4 hours to complete. As we have a baby in a stroller, we were pleased that the entire trail was paved inside the forest. There are also trails unpaved. We saw a number of athletes biking or jogging. Gorgeous forest!
Written 21 August 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
nthirion
Scottsdale, AZ152 contributions
Apr 2012 • Couples
Many visits and I feel have not seem enough. The quick train trip from Paris is worth the effort and many and the forest offers so much.
I have spent hours trail running, horse riding and walking the forest. It is very accessible but take to have a proper map, water and food.
The town and train station doesn't have any hiking trail maps so look for one in Paris.
I have spent hours trail running, horse riding and walking the forest. It is very accessible but take to have a proper map, water and food.
The town and train station doesn't have any hiking trail maps so look for one in Paris.
Written 2 July 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JANDDBritinParis
Aberdeen, UK706 contributions
Feb 2012 • Couples
Beautiful forested area with most unusual rock formations that you can climb over and walk round. The forest has an Interesting history and all the trails are clearly marked with blue marks and numbers. The rock formations are all catalogued too with blue letters. There is a tower with a good viewpoint erected in honour of the XIX th century gentlemen who mapped out the area. Covers a huge area and a hike could be combined with a visit to the chateau as one can walk directly through the forest to the formal gardens and lake belonging to the chateau.
Written 24 February 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Raina B
5 contributions
Apr 2017
The forest is so easy to get to from the train station, literally right across the street. There are tons of different trails. If you're needing a break from the city, this place will definitely give you you're full of nature!
Written 25 April 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Est-ce qu'une balade avec la poussette peut être envisagée ou le sol n'est pas adapté à ce genre de balade ? Merci
Written 6 July 2020
bonjour, avez vous seulement pensé à visiter l'office du tourisme qui propose les parcours complets Denecourt-Collinet? Fontainebleau est la forêt la mieux balisée de France, quand on prend la peine de sortir des gorges de Franchard !
Written 18 August 2019
I'd like a referral to hire a mountain bike and guide for riding in this forest next March 2019. Thank you. Steve syellon@google,com
Written 30 July 2018
Would a electric scooter be able to go on these trails? My husband is an amputee and rides on a Go Go Scooter. Thanks!
Written 4 November 2017
this area is very sandy so it will be hard or impossible to go there with a scooter
Written 16 May 2018
Does this forest require hiking shoes, or are flatter sneakers (Keds or Converse) acceptable? The terrain looks quite flat and sandy in many areas.
Written 11 May 2017
Sneakers would be fine, the forest is quite flat and the terrain is sandy, not rocky or difficult to walk on. It's walkable in flip flops!
Written 18 August 2017
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