Fontainebleau & Barbizon Half-Day Trip from Paris with Entry
Description
Leave Paris behind for a few hours and discover one of France’s most beautiful royal residences and the village that inspired generations of painters. Travel in a comfortable, air-conditioned minivan with a small group (maximum 8 participants) and an experienced driver-guide. At Fontainebleau Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and favourite residence of the French kings from François I to Napoléon III, enjoy an audio-guided visit that lets you explore the lavishly decorated apartments, grand galleries and magnificent chapels at your own pace. Afterwards, stroll through the formal gardens and wooded park that surround the château. On the way back to Paris, your route takes you through Barbizon, a charming artists’ village on the edge of the forest where 19th-century painters like Corot and Millet came to capture light and nature. This half-day excursion is the perfect mix of royal history, architecture, landscape and art, all within easy reach of central Paris.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Departure from Paris – France Tourisme Agency Meet your driver-guide at a central Paris meeting point close to the Louvre. Settle into your air-conditioned minivan and leave the city towards the vast Fontainebleau forest. Enjoy views of the countryside and the ancient royal hunting forest as your guide introduces the history of Fontainebleau and explains why so many French rulers chose to live there.
On arrival, enter the château for your self-paced audio-guided visit. Discover more than eight centuries of royal history as you explore the Renaissance and classical façades, the François I Gallery, the royal apartments, Napoleon I’s throne room and the richly decorated Napoleon III rooms. Then, take some free time to wander through the French-style parterres and the vast park designed for royal hunts and court promenades.
On the return journey, your driver-guide will take you along the main street of Barbizon, a small village nestled at the edge of the forest. From the minivan, learn how this peaceful hamlet became one of the birthplaces of Impressionism, attracting artists in search of natural light and rural scenes.
Return to Paris Relax on the drive back and arrive in central Paris in the early afternoon, with the rest of the day free for your own plans.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(33)
Great time, on the tour, thank you love the Fountainbleu, and Barbizon village recommend this tour, thank you.
Paid for audio guides and none were available. Expected more interaction with guide, who really was only the van driver.
Thank you Stick for you review. We are so sorry your experience didn't match your expectations and we appreciate you bringing this issue to our attention. We will share your message with our customer service team and our partner Fontainebleau to make sure this situation does not repeat itself. Audio guides are indeed included in this tour and should be provided by the castle. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused. We hope you were still able to enjoy Fontainebleau and Barbizon! Have a good day, Christophe from France Tourisme
Fontainebleau is gorgeous. Our tour guide was mostly a driver and did not provide much information. We were also taken to Barbizon during hours that all stores were closed and the village looked dead. We basically stoped for a few minutes and walked up and down a dead street. It was a waste of time.
Thank you for your review, we are glad to read you enjoyed your trip to Fontainebleau's beautiful castle. Barbizon is a lovely rural village from the early 19th century dedicated to impressionism, we make a short stop there so you can discover the school workshop of painter Millet. Our expert guides are with you during the excursion to make sure everything goes to plan and to facilitate your tour. The visit of the castle is with individual visio guides, but our guides are available and can answer specific questions, they all love sharing their knowledge with their guests. For your next excursion in France we would recommend our private tours with France Tourisme, we feel it might be the perfect option for your girls' trip since it allows you to change the itinerary or avoid stops. We hope to see you again soon at France Tourisme, have a good day!
We had a small group of four, three Americans and one Frenchwoman, and a wonderful driver, Edoardo, and our shared experience made it worthwhile and a lot of fun. Wish we had had more time at the palace, and also at Barbizon, but we did make it to both of these sites, learned a lot, enjoyed the companionship, and all had a good time.
I bought this tour from Trip Advisor and didn't find anyway to contact them. We bought this tour a few months ago that was to leave at 11 am. A few weeks later, they changed the time to 8 am, which was very early for a vacation tour, but okay. Then the night before the tour was scheduled, they called and cancelled, offering us another date, after we would have left. It was very disappointing and I do not think this is a reliable company.
Hello We are really sorry for the cancellation of your excursion to Fontainebleau, but it is true that on this excursion you were the only ones registered and therefore we could not ensure the excursion Again our apologies
My second time to the Fontainebleau as beautiful as I remember ❤️ 💕 just wish they will do a longer tour🤔little more than 2 hour is a bit rush to visit the castle😁hate the tour at 8am too early but love it for less people😅 besides that Love it love it love it 😀 like the minivan👏 comfortable ❤️
The place is beautiful and definitely worth the trip, very cold, the château closes early so there was nothing to do, so we came back early
Antonio did a great job. We really enjoyed it he was great. There were no audio guides 😒 but Antonio was great!!! Mmmmmmmmmm
Fontainebleau was Fabulous. So much to see inside. Furnished rooms, Collections of China, statutes, paintings Architecture and grounds. Our tour guide was delightful but the company need to verify periodically what it is selling. This was an afternoon tour and upon getting there it changed it closing time which shortened the time we could spend inside and they had no audio equipment available in any language which was included in the price of the package. Many of the exhibits did have signs to identify wht you were looking at in French and English Barbizon was a fun stop but most business were closed.
Company office advertised toilets & snacks but had none despite directional signage. Basically just a transport service not equipped for 8 passengers. Front seat with driver had 2 half seats to accommodate 2 more passengers. Guide was well intentioned but could not deliver on the experience promised by this company. Arrived at palace too late to get audio guide. The only business open in Barbizon by the time we arrived was a bar.
