The tour of the Fontainebleau Forest (french: Tour du Massif de Fontainebleau, TMF) is a hiking path all around the

Forest of Fontainebleau The forest of Fontainebleau (french: Forêt de Fontainebleau, or ''Forêt de Bière'', meaning "forest of heather") is a mixed deciduous forest lying southeast of Paris, France. It is located primarily in the arrondissement of Fontainebleau i ...

, in the Parisian region.

Description

This footpath has been created in 1975 by the

Office National des Forêts The National Forests Office (french: Office national des forêts), or ONF, is a Government of France agency that manages the state forests, city forests and biological reserves. ONF is based in Paris. The office is responsible for the sustaina ...

and was originally 65 km long. It used to be marked out with green and white markers. A new 74 km itinerary has since been published, especially in the guidebook ''La Seine-et-Marne... à pied'' which proposes several routes in the department of Seine-et-Marne. This tour links several well-known towns including

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...

, Bourron-Marlotte, Barbizon, Bois-le-Roi and follow different GR footpaths such as the

GR 1 The long distance footpath GR 1 is one of the paths in the GR footpath, grand randonnée network in France. It takes in the great forests outside Paris. Course Porte Maillot The starting point is the Porte Maillot metro station. ''Bois de Bo ...

, the GR 2, the GR 11 or the GR 13 with about 1000 m of difference in height. It crosses varied landscapes including “ancient woodlands, rock piles, platières and a few breathtaking views”.

Route

The tour can be achieved in two, three or four days, depending on hikers' walking speed. Several variants are possible. One possibility is to cover the circuit within four days, starting from Fontainebleau-Avon. The first stage leads the hikers to Bourron-Marlotte, a small town which used to be “the stopping place of numerous painters, musicians and writers”, such as

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent film, silent era to the end of the 1960s. ...

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...

. The second day allows hikers to reach the hermitage of Franchard, going through the town of

Recloses Recloses () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Demographics The inhabitants are called ''Reclosiots''. See also *Communes of the Seine-et-Marne department The following is a li ...

and its remarkable church. Then, the third stage rejoins Bois-le-Roi. This step passes through the town of Barbizon, considered as “a village of painters” as it has received since the 1850s painters from all over the world and has been one of the centres of the

impressionist movement Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

. The forest around Barbizon has been the first protected area in France since a reserve has been created in 1861. It is also a worldwide recognized climbing area. To finish, the final step returns to

, following the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

Accommodation

Pitching tents along the trail is not allowed. However, two bivouac areas with water points are located next to the footpath in Bourron-Marlotte and Bois-le-Roi. In Samois-sur-Seine, there is also a campsite. Several hostels, guesthouses or campsites are also available in the villages which border the circuit. Moreover, two restaurants in the forest (near

and Barbizon) and many more in the different towns allow the hikers to eat.

Access

From

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, the circuit can be reached by train in 40 minutes starting from

Gare de Lyon The Gare de Lyon, officially Paris-Gare-de-Lyon, is one of the six large mainline railway stations in Paris, France. It handles about 148.1 million passengers annually according to the estimates of the SNCF in 2018, with SNCF railways and RER D ...

and stopping either at Fontainebleau-Avon, Bois-le-Roi or Bourron-Marlotte-Grez train station. On weekends, there is also a stop in the middle of the forest (Fontainebleau-Forêt). The town of Barbizon can be reached by bus from Melun or Fontainebleau-Avon train station. By car, several car parks are located near the footpath, especially in the towns along the trail (Bois-le-Roi, Barbizon,…). From

, the motorway A6 in the direction of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

must be taken.

References

{{reflist

External links

Tour of the Fontainebleau Forest on Fontainebleau website

Tour of the Fontainebleau Forest on Cirkwi

Tour of the Fontainebleau Forest on Seine-et-Marne website

Description of the route

Itinerary of the tour on Camp to Camp
Hiking trails in France Tourist attractions in Île-de-France Tourist attractions in Seine-et-Marne