Fontainebleau: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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EUR 95 - 165 Napoleon
 The hotel lies in the heart of Fontainebleau, within a stone´s throw of the famous forest and castle, about 60 km south of Paris and 30 minutes … MoreEUR 100 - 176 Mercure Royal Fontainebleau
 Situated in a residential neighbourhood, the hotel is 500 meters away from the château and its sumptuous gardens and only 5 minutes from the train st… MoreEUR 50 - 80 Logis Le Richelieu
 Le Richelieu is located in the heart of Fontainebleau across from the Municipal Theatre and the Palace of Fontainebleau. It offers en suite accommodat… MoreEUR 53 - 95 Hotel Belle Fontaine
 This hotel is located in the heart of Fontainebleau, 140 metres from Fontainebleau Palace and less than a 15-minute walk to Foret Domaniale de Fontain… MoreEUR 110 - 400 Aigle Noir Hôtel
 The Aigle Noir Hotel hosts an exceptional setting in the heart of the imperial city, in front of the Palais de Fountainebleau, the one-time residence … More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fontainebleau: Guide
Fontainebleau is a lovely historical town south of Paris, France (55.5 km - 34.5 miles). It is renowned for its large and scenic Forest of Fontainebleau, a favorite weekend getaway for Parisians, as well as for the historical Château de Fontainebleau of the kings of France, which attracts crowds of tourists.
Understand
Getting there
Getting there is very easy from Paris.
By train
You can use a train from Paris Gare de Lyon with at least two trains an hour. The ride lasts about 35 minutes and stops only in the towns of Melun and Bois-le-Roi before arriving in the green town of Fontainebleau (you will feel the fresh forest air as soon as you come out). From there you can use a bus to the Castle (about 15 minutes) although buses seem to stop around eight in the evening.
To find the last stop, you can either look for the Place Napoléon Bonaparte or the Castle as each stop is in the centre.
By car
The total distance from centre to centre is about 65 km or an hour. From Paris, follow signs towards the south, then signs for Lyon and the A6. After about 35 minutes you will see signs for Fontainebleau. Once entering the city there is a tall apartment block which is a remnant of some architectural style a lot in the city would like to see disappear. However, it still forms part of the town’s history – as much as the castle even if in much less splendour.
Get around
Orientation in town is very easy as there is only one main artery called the “Rue Grande” which goes from the Castle to the other end of town, passing by the central “Napoléon Bonaparte” place. Many shops, bars and restaurants abound on either sidewalk for every possible taste.
Walking is by far the best option as the most you’ll walk without stopping (very difficult thing to do considering all the pretty windows to look at) would be 20 minutes.
See
Learn
The town is so close to Paris and yet so protected by its forest that Harvard professors in the sixties started the now world renowned INSEAD MBA school. While it is the top university in town, other schools and universities are also present there.
http://www.insead.edu/
Do
There are many cultural, sporting, entertainment or shopping activities one could do. For more information on this, the best available and updated website is http://www.fontainebleau-tourisme.com
The town is also famous for a horse race track and its Sunday morning food market.
As if the town didn’t offer enough as it is, there are many other attractions in the surrounding region. Towns like Barbizon (home of the artists), Milly-la-Foret, Samois-sur-Seine, and many others…
Buy
There are plenty of shops from high-end pastery shops to the latest French fashion cloth wear and jewellery.
Eat
The town boasts many different restaurants from Mexican to Japanese, Pizza to Fish-only. Of course there are Brasseries (the most authentic being, quite unknowingly called the “Franklin Roosevelt”) and very good French restaurants (the best one being in the Hotel Napoleon).
Drink
There are plenty of places to drink, from modern ambient bars to traditional French bars, English pubs and Mexican bars.
Sleep
There are plenty of places to sleep in Fontainebleau but the three best places are the Aigle Noir Hotel, the Napoléon Hotel and the Hotel of London.
http://www.hotelaiglenoir.fr/
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikitravel article "Fontainebleau". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 license.
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