In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Fontainebleau is a 40-minute train from Gare de Lyon, then bus 3401 to the château’s gate, and it is closed on Tuesdays. The interior is €17, the same for everyone, and takes about two hours; the courtyards and gardens are free. Unlike Versailles, you can buy the ticket at the gate on the day. Vaux-le-Vicomte, the other château on the usual day trip, is reached from Melun by taxi or shuttle, not from Fontainebleau. Or book a tour: the coach tour to both châteauxad (from £72.00) includes entry to both and the coach from a hotel meeting point in the 12th arrondissement, back in central Paris at about 18:15. Alone, do Fontainebleau by train; for both, the tour is the simple way.
Getting there on your own
Both routes are from the château’s own page (chateaudefontainebleau.fr, 30 September 2026).
| Route | Details |
|---|---|
| Train and bus | Main-line train from Gare de Lyon towards Montargis, Montereau or Laroche-Migennes, to Fontainebleau-Avon, about 40 minutes. Then bus 3401 to the “Château” stop |
| Car | The A6 from the Porte d’Orléans or the Porte d’Italie, then the Fontainebleau exit and the signs for the château |
- Tickets: the €2.55 Métro-Train-RER ticket is valid on trains anywhere in the Paris region; see Paris metro tickets. The bus takes its own ticket. Timetables are on transilien.com, and works do interrupt the line.
- Time: the Fontainebleau tourist office gives about 40 minutes on the train (fontainebleau-tourisme.com).
Tours from Paris
Two tours combine Fontainebleau with Vaux-le-Vicomte. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” price on 30 September 2026.
The coach tour to both châteaux
From £72.00 · 4.4 stars from 581 reviews · 9 hours · audio guides
Fontainebleau & Vaux-le-Vicomte Châteaux Day Tour from Parisad leaves the Pullman Paris Centre Bercy, 1 rue de Libourne, at 9:15. It goes to Vaux-le-Vicomte first, about an hour by coach, leaves there at 13:30 for Fontainebleau, and starts back at 17:00. Entry to both châteaux and an audio guide at each are included; it is self-guided, with a coach driver and no guide, and the audio guide needs the operator’s app on your phone. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
The small-group tour with a guide
From £188.56 · 4.8 stars from 119 reviews · 10 hours · live guide
From Paris: Chateau de Fontainebleau & Vaux-Le-Vicomte Tourad is a minibus tour with an English-speaking guide and both entry fees, meeting at La Flamme, 6 avenue de Wagram, 8e. The itinerary allows about two and a quarter hours at Vaux-le-Vicomte, an hour for lunch in Fontainebleau and two hours in the château.
The château and its tickets
Prices and hours are from the château, read on 30 September 2026.
| Ticket | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Château, full price | €17 | The Grands Appartements and the Napoleon I Museum. Buy online or at the gate on the day |
| Château, reduced | €15 | The groups the château lists, such as large families and holders of holiday vouchers |
| Video guide | €4 | Hired at reception, in 11 languages, while tablets last |
| Guided tour | €7, on top of admission | 30 minutes to two hours; the English tours run in summer only |
| Courtyards and gardens | Free | Every day |
- Free entry: under-18s, and everyone on the first Sunday of the month except in July and August.
- One price for everyone: the château has no separate rate for visitors from outside the European Economic Area, unlike the Louvre.
- Hours: 9:30 to 18:00 from April to September, last admission 17:15; 9:30 to 17:00 from October to March, last admission 16:15. Closed on Tuesdays, 1 January, 1 May and 25 December.
- The gardens are open 9:00 to 17:00 from November to February, 9:00 to 18:00 in March, April and October, and 9:00 to 19:00 from May to September; the park is open all day and night.
What to see
The Horseshoe Staircase in the main courtyard of the Château de Fontainebleau. Photo: GFreihalter, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Allow about two hours inside. The château has 1,536 rooms and opens 121 of them; kings from Francis I to Napoleon III lived here, 34 kings and two emperors by the château’s count.
- The Horseshoe Staircase, in the main courtyard, built 1632 to 1634. Napoleon I said goodbye to his guard on it on 20 April 1814.
- The Grands Appartements. The route takes in the Francis I Gallery and the Ballroom, Renaissance rooms decorated by Rosso Fiorentino and Primaticcio, and the Throne Room, which was the king’s bedchamber until Napoleon I turned it into a throne room in 1808.
- The Napoleon I Museum, on the same ticket.
- The gardens and the park. The Grand Parterre, laid out in 1660 to 1664 by André Le Nôtre, runs to the Grand Canal; the Diana Garden and the English Garden are the smaller ones.
- What needs a guided tour: the Imperial Theatre, the Petits Appartements, Madame de Maintenon’s apartments and the Turkish Boudoir cannot be seen on the standard visit.
- Inside first: go round the interior first, then the gardens, which stay open later than the château. Lunch is at the château’s restaurant, at the take-away kiosks in the Fountain Courtyard, or as a picnic on the lawns of the English Garden or in the park.
- The real tennis court: the château keeps a working jeu de paume court, and you can play a match.
The Grand Parterre at the Château de Fontainebleau. Photo: Daniel Villafruela, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Vaux-le-Vicomte
Open daily 10:00 to 17:30 from 14 March to 1 November 2026, except Saturdays from 16 May to 26 September · €18 with the gardens · train to Melun, then a shuttle or taxi
Vaux-le-Vicomte is a separate château, 10 to 15 minutes by road from Melun, not near Fontainebleau. It is open every day from 14 March to 1 November 2026 with last entry at the ticket office at 17:30, but not on Saturdays from 16 May to 26 September, when it opens for its candlelit evenings instead. A château and garden ticket is €18 (€14.50 reduced), the garden only €13.50. From Paris, take the direct line R train from Gare de Lyon to Melun, about 25 minutes, then a taxi (€18 to €20 by day, 10 to 15 minutes) or the château’s shuttle from the station, on reservation (vaux-le-vicomte.com, 30 September 2026). The Vaux-le-Vicomte entry ticket with the Chateaubusad is from £25.71 (4.4 stars from 75 reviews, 5 hours) and meets at Melun station. In winter the château decorates for Christmas: see Paris Christmas markets.
The garden front of the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte. Photo: Jebulon, Wikimedia Commons.
On the day
- Bags: free lockers hold bulky bags, umbrellas and pushchairs; large pushchairs are not allowed inside.
- Photos: allowed in the courtyards, the gardens and the rooms, without flash, selfie poles, tripods or drones.
- Heat: the château posts heatwave conditions on its practical-information page; check it in summer.
Fontainebleau is one of several day trips from Paris. The other royal château, Versailles, is closed on Mondays rather than Tuesdays: see the Versailles day trip. For a Tuesday, when the Louvre is shut, Giverny is open from April to October. The 4-day itinerary puts a day trip on the fourth day, and what to book before you go lists every closing day.
Common questions
How do I get from Paris to Fontainebleau by train?
Take a main-line train from Gare de Lyon towards Montargis, Montereau or Laroche-Migennes to Fontainebleau-Avon, about 40 minutes, then bus 3401 to the Château stop. The €2.55 Métro-Train-RER ticket is valid anywhere in the Paris region, and the bus takes its own ticket.
What day is the Château de Fontainebleau closed?
Tuesdays, and 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. It is open 9:30 to 18:00 from April to September and 9:30 to 17:00 from October to March, with last admission 45 minutes before closing. The courtyards and gardens are free and open every day.
How much is a ticket to the Château de Fontainebleau?
€17, with €15 reduced, for the Grands Appartements and the Napoleon I Museum, the same for visitors from outside the European Economic Area. It is free for under-18s and on the first Sunday of the month except in July and August.
Can you see Fontainebleau and Vaux-le-Vicomte in one day?
On a tour, yes: the coach tour from Paris is from £72.00 and includes entry to both châteaux. On your own it is two separate journeys, because Vaux-le-Vicomte is reached from Melun, not from Fontainebleau.
