Self-guided tour of the chateau
Fontainebleau is not the Chateau of a sovereign, but the palace of each and every one of them, handed down from generation to generation from the Middle Ages to Napoleon III.
Set in 130 hectares of parkland and gardens, it owns exceptional collections, making it one of the most furnished châteaux in Europe.
- Free access from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The château’s self-guided tour
Meet our heritage ambassadors in the rooms of the château.
- Saturday, 2 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.
By the Maison des Jeunes d’Avon
As part of the cultural twinning agreement with the Château de Fontainebleau and the Prefecture of the Ile-de-France Region.
Throughout the weekend, the château’s staff and partner associations will be offering numerous tours and presentations of works of art.
Our must-see tours
Guided tours : practical information
Visits are only in French, by reservation only, on the day of the visit, at the reception desk in the Cour d’Honneur (Honour Courtyard), subject to availability.
Let’s meet at the reception desk :
- At 9.30 a.m. to book morning tours
- At 1 p.m. to book afternoon tours
“Imperial Theatre” guided tour
Inaugurated in 1857, this Second Empire theater was designed by architect Hector Lefuel at the request of Napoleon III. Recently restored, the theater reveals all the splendor and delicacy of its decoration.
Saturday and Sunday
10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 1.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m,
Tours depart every 20 minutes
No booking required, entrance via the Cour d’Honneur
Led by a guide from the Château de Fontainebleau
Madame de Maintenon’s apartment
“Les Petits Appartements” guided tour
Discover Emperor Napoleon I, Empress Josephine and Empress Marie-Louise’s private apartments.
Saturday and Sunday
11:30 am and 4 pm, duration 1 hour
Departure from the kiosk in the Cour d’Honneur
With a guide from the Château de Fontainebleau
The Empress’s Museum
Walk around this museum, created in 1863 by Empress Eugenie, containing 800 pieces of art and precious objects, mainly from Asia.
Saturday and Sunday
10:30 am, 11:30 am, 12:30 pm, 2 pm and 5 pm, duration 30 minutes
Departure from the kiosk in the Cour d’Honneur
With a guide from the Château de Fontainebleau
Discover the château through the gardens
From one courtyard to the other, discover the major stages in the construction of the château and gardens, their history, the technical challenges faced by the architects, and the chateau’s evolution over the centuries.
Saturday and Sunday
2pm, duration 1h30
Departure from the kiosk in the Cour d’Honneur
With a guide from the Château de Fontainebleau
Our unusual guided tours
When walls whisper
They are everywhere, before our eyes or hidden ; they take many forms, traced, engraved or drawn ; they are outside, they are inside ; their authors belong to all eras ; they are dates, names, drawings ; testimony, art, vandalism? These are the graffitis of the Chateau de Fontainebleau.
Saturday and Sunday
4pm, duration 1h30
Departure from the kiosk in the Cour d’Honneur
Led by a château guide
Good to know: there are lots of stairs to climb!
Behind the scenes
Discover how a chateau is built and the different ways in which it is furnished and decorated. Far from the ceremonial apartments reserved for sovereigns, the tour will take you to the guest apartments reserved for visiting courtiers and their servants.
Saturday and Sunday
11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., duration 1 hour
By Alexandre Quinzan, operations manager with the Buildings and Gardens Department.
Departure from the kiosk in the Cour d’Honneur
The art of dining and gastronomy
Let’s bring to life a new angle of the Château de Fontainebleau : the art of dining and gastronomy through the centuries. A historical appetizer that honors this living heritage.
Saturday and Sunday
10 am and 3:30 pm, duration 1h30
By Anne-Sophie Vernon, Deputy Head of Educational Services.
Departure from the kiosk in the Cour d’Honneur
Francis I, a dream of Italy
A “new Roma” was born under the impetus of Francis I. From then on, the chateau and its architecture became an influential artistic center that had a lasting impact on French and European art.
Saturday and Sunday
10:30 am, 2 pm and 3 pm, duration 1h30
With a guide from the Château de Fontainebleau
Departure from the kiosk in the Cour d’Honneur
Dialogue between two extraordinary vases
They don’t like each other, they’re different, they fought, but they live together…in Fontainebleau since 1838 : the Chenavard vase and the Phidias vase in the Galerie de Diane.
Saturday and Sunday
10.15 am, duration 1 hour
By a guide from the Château de Fontainebleau
Departure from the kiosk in the Cour d’Honneur
Visit the gardens of the Château with an art gardener
An exceptional setting to dive into the art of gardening, its nature and ecosystem.
Saturday and Sunday
At 10:30 am, duration 1h30
By Laurent Pinon, art gardener at the Domaine National de Fontainebleau
Departure from the kiosk in the Cour d’Honneur
When court life is recounted : a public reading
“Once upon a time, there was a book, a story at the Château de Fontainebleau…”
Florence Porcheron, in charge of the research library, offers a public reading in the Salon des Fleurs.
A story drawn from biographical works, the memories of the Princesse de Metternich during the stays of the imperial couple Napoleon III and Eugenie at the château.
Saturday at 11 am and 3 pm
Sunday, 11 am and 2 pm, duration: 1 hour
Departure from the Cour d’Honneur bandstand
Guided tours by Château curators
The circulation of Belgian and Italian marble at Fontainebleau
The Château de Fontainebleau owns a little-known marble heritage. 395 marble mantels from a wide variety of origins, as well as numerous furniture tops and pavements, trace the history of these fascinating stones. Through the itineraries of the marbles, this tour unveils an untold story of the château’s decor.
Sunday
At 2pm, duration 1h30
By Muriel Barbier, Chief Curator of Heritage, Director of Heritage and Collections
Departure from the kiosk in the Cour d’Honneur
The imperial family : mobility on a European scale
Born in Corsica, the Bonapartes were swept along by Napoleon’s dazzling career, and found themselves endowed with thrones in Europe overnight, before the collapse of the Great Empire condemned them to exile in Europe and as far afield as America.
Saturday
At 10 am, duration 1h30
By Christophe Beyeler, General Curator of Heritage
Departure from the kiosk in the Cour d’Honneur
Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI at Fontainebleau
Major renovation work was undertaken at Fontainebleau in 1786, under the direction of architect Pierre Rousseau, to refurbish the apartments of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. The decorations still bear witness to the originality of the artistic choices made at the time.
Saturday
At 2pm, duration 1h30
By Jean Vittet, General Curator of Heritage
Departure from the kiosk in the Cour d’Honneur
Exceptional opening
Opening of the château’s tapestry and cabinet-making workshop
The château’s art workshops are ready to show their expertise. You’ll meet the upholsterers and cabinet-maker in their workshops to discover how the château’s furniture is maintained and restored, what their tools are and the age-old gestures that have been passed down to them.
For the tapestry and cabinet-making workshop, Saturday and Sunday
10:30 am, 11:15 am, 12 pm, 2 pm, 2:45 pm, 3:30 pm, 4:15 pm and 5 pm, duration 30 minutes
By Audrey Creveau, head of the tapestry workshop, and Loïc Chahory, cabinetmaker at the château.
Departure from the kiosk in the Cour d’Honneur.
The Oval Courtyard
This is the castle’s oldest courtyard, inherited from the Middle Ages, with an irregular V-shaped layout. Most of the buildings in this courtyard date back to the reign of Francis I. Henri IV restructured the eastern part, building the Baptistery Gate.
10am to 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 5:30pm free admission
No reservation required, entrance via the Mariniers corridor, from the Cour de la Fontaine courtyard.
The Deer Galery
Built and decorated under Henri IV, the Galerie des cerfs (deer gallery) features representations of the great royal hunting estates of the early 17th century. The gallery is also adorned with bronze statues, cast by Primaticcio in Fontainebleau for François I.
10 am to 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Tours depart every 20′ minutes
Led by a guide from the Château de Fontainebleau.
No reservation required, entrance via the Mariners’ corridor, then the Cour de la Fontaine.
The château’s scientific resource center
“Pathways to research: written heritage, photographic sources and digital projects”.
Dive into the heart of the Château de Fontainebleau archives.
Saturday
At 11:30 am, 2:30 pm and 3:30 pm, duration 45 minutes
By the Centre de ressources scientifiques
Departure from the kiosk in the Cour d’Honneur
Visits, performances and workshops by our partners :
Guided tour “The Château de Fontainebleau in the heart of the forest”
It thus forms a unity with the state forest of Fontainebleau. This tour explores the evolution of the forest landscape around the château, from yesterday to today, and looks ahead to a changing climate. A selection of paintings will provide a comparative perspective on the history of the forest and its development.
Saturday at 10:30 am, duration 1h30
By Sophie David, Assistant to the Charter and Exceptional Forest Manager, ONF Environment and Visitor Service.
Departure from the kiosk in the Cour d’Honneur.
Guided tour to discover the biodiversity of meadows and woodlands
Discover the rich and diverse biodiversity and the exemplary approach to managing the château’s green and natural spaces.
Saturday
2:30 pm, duration 2h30
By the association des naturalistes de la Vallée du Loing et du massif de Fontainebleau.
Meet on avenue des cascades, at the gate near the Synagogue.
“PODER SER” dance performance
Choreographic performance by the Leila Ka company, in partnership with the Théâtre Municipal de Fontainebleau as part of the “Alors on danse?” Festival.
In Poder Ser, young hip-hop choreographer Leïla Ka explores the contradictions that inhabit every being. She is on stage as if in an arena, fighting with and against her body, fists clenched.
Saturday
11am and 3pm, duration 20min
Ballroom
Free access to the ballroom
Discover the Jeu de Paume hall
Come and discover the only historic jeu de paume hall still in use in France, and learn all about this historic sport. Our Jeu-de-Paume master will explain the history of the “game of kings, king of games”, its rules, and the many French expressions derived from it.
Saturday and Sunday
Initiation from 10 to 11:30 a.m. and from 2 to 5:30 p.m., departures every 30 minutes
Demonstration at 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., duration 30 minutes
By the Cercle du Jeu de Paume team.
No reservation required, Salle du Jeu de Paume
From duel to fencing !
Stroll around the château’s exterior in search of the mignons of Henri III, the Chevalier de Maupin and Beaumarchais. Get your foils ready, you’re about to step into an era of French history, with the common denominator of a sport that continues to this day : fencing ! En garde mousquetaire !
Saturday and Sunday
11 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
By the Estocade company.
No reservation required, departure from Porte Dorée
Visit to the Diana Gardens and the Deer Gallery
For eight centuries, each sovereigns who succeeded one another on the throne of France frequented Fontainebleau. Their regular stays were mainly due to their passion for hunting, which they practiced in their forest, enlarging and embellishing the château to provide a quality setting for their favorite pastime, a testament to their pomp and magnificence.
A visit to the Jardin de Diane and the Galerie des Cerfs will provide an opportunity to recall the considerable expansion and embellishment work carried out on the château and its gardens during the reign of Henri IV, who was passionate about dogs and hunting.
Saturday at 2:30 pm, duration 1h15
Sunday, 11 am and 2.30 pm, duration 1h15
By Gérard Tendron, President of the Association des Amis du Château de Fontainebleau.
Departure from the kiosk in the Cour d’Honneur.
Tour of the Grands Appartements
The Grands Appartements des souverains occupies the second floor of the château, a noble area made for pageantry, court life and the public display of power. From the Renaissance to the XIX century, sovereigns have successively refurbished these apartments to reflect the way in which they lived and embellished the same palace, while constantly positioning themselves in relation to the legacy of past centuries.
Saturday at 10:30 am, duration 1h30
Sunday at 3pm, duration 1h30
By Patrice Burel, Vice-President of the Association des Amis du Château de Fontainebleau.
Departure from the kiosk in the Cour d’Honneur.
The King’s Trellis
Demonstrations, explanations of pruning and trellising, picking and tasting.
Saturday and Sunday, 2pm to 5pm
Access to Treille du Roy via Place Bois d’Hyver, next to the park’s nursery.
As part of the Treille Roy association’s 30th anniversary celebrations, concerts, exhibition and numerous activities in the oval courtyard, Sunday September 22 from 2pm to 5pm.
Concert by the Karski Quartet
Offered at the opening of the 25th “Rencontres Musicales ProQuartet en Seine-et-Marne” as part of a partnership between the Château de Fontainebleau and ProQuartet.
A musical stroll through the Jardin Anglais in the company of the internationally renowned Karski Quartet. A pure moment of contemplation for a musical experience !
Saturday
3pm, duration 1h
Concert by the Friends of the Organ Association
Orchestre Baroque de l’Essonne “Concerto, certo !”
With : Alexandre Salles, bassoon; Antoine Ladrette, cello; Martin Bauer, conducting and viola da gamba; Gérard Sablier, organ
Sunday
10:30 am, duration 1h
Chapelle de la Trinité (limited seating)
Exhibition : discovering France's automotive heritage
Sports cars take center stage !
The Château de Fontainebleau renews its partnership with the Fédération Française des Véhicules d’Epoque (FFVE) to present an unprecedented exhibition of some 20 leisure and touring vehicles from the 1950s, to take to the roads of the French countryside.
In partnership with the Fédération Française des Véhicules d’Epoque (FFVE).
Saturday
10 am to 6 pm
Allée de Maintenon
- Find out all about the European Heritage Days 2024 on the Ministry of Culture website : https://journeesdupatrimoine.culture.gouv.fr/
