What Nobody Tells You About Visiting Fontainebleau 🇫🇷
- Sophia
- Jul 30
- 5 min read
If you've tried outdoor bouldering, Fontainebleau should be on the top of your bucket list. From fairytale-like cobbled streets to Instagram-worthy rock aesthetics, you'll fall in love with this tiny village almost right away.
At A Glance...
Tiny historic imperial town known for the Chateau de Fontainebleau (Fontainebleau Castle) and world-class sandstone boulders
60 km from Paris (Gare de Lyon) and 45 minutes by train
Massive 60,0000-acre Foret du Fontainebleau (Fontainebleau Forest)
Temperate climate: summers are warm and winters are cool
30,000+ boulders ranging from Font 1 to 9a (VB - V17)
Rock is generally high-friction (slab and slopers), but known to be extra greasy in hot weather (as with any crag)
Here's what I wish someone told me before visiting Fontainebleau: 🇫🇷
Getting there: the train from Gare de Lyon is actually not that easy to find! (we missed the first one...)
Getting around: it's not all in one place... and farther away than you think!
Sightseeing: everything is closed on Tuesdays (bakeries, castle, etc.)
Micro-annoyance note: the sand!!! 🤣
(Fontainbleau - Zone 30 was just half an hour of walking from our Air BnB. Some try-hard shots of us *failing* all the boulders and escaping the rain in a cave with a questionable amount of potato chips consumed. 😅)
The train from Gare de Lyon is not that easy to find!
Gare de Lyon is one of the six major railway stations in Paris, France. It's a HUGE place that serves both local metro and high-speed TGV trains connecting travellers to the southeast of France, the Alps, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain.
For us Canadians - with zero experience navigating train stations - finding the right gate in such a big place was a struggle. Especially when you've got maybe 20 minutes between the airport train and the Fontainebleau-Avon metro!
From the Charles de Gaulle airport, you will be taking RER B to RER D to Gare de Lyon, where your train line to Fontainebleau-Avon is Line R. This line departs from Hall 1, specifically from Tracks (Voies) K, L, M, or N.
The final destination of this line will be either Montereau or Montargis, listed on the display board 20 minutes before departure. All trains for Montereau pass through the Fontainebleau-Avon station, but beware that some Montargis-bound trains bypass this line entirely.
The challenge for us was finding the right 'track letter' in the confusing mix of train lines. Luckily, Gare de Lyon - Montereau/Montargis trains depart frequently within 1 hour of each other, so if you miss the first one (like us!), do not fret! :)
The trick for somebody who had never been there before was that the track lines (e.g. M) are sometimes 'within' each other, and will not be listed on the direction signs in the main foyers. You will need to descend into the correct hall first, THEN look for your track.
Interestingly enough, most of the Info booths were closed when we were there... if that happens, you're left on your own to find the right train!
This is a very popular train line that is commonly used by people getting to/from work in Paris - therefore being very crowded during rush hour. It'll take you through suburban Paris and out into the country, passing almost-magical little villages for 45 minutes, before stopping at your station, Fontainebleau-Avon.
It's not all in one place... and farther away than you think!
Fontainebleau might seem like a tiny, walking-distance village. Realistically, it's a LOT more spread out than it seems. This community spans 172 square km, while the famous forest covers up to 250.
Fontainebleau neighbourhoods:
Centre-Ville (Centre town, downtown)
Quartier des Drags, Les Carrosses
Avon (adjacent community, the only train station for the area)
Barbizon
Samois-sur-Seine
and more!
Where you stay is going to affect where you can climb. Font has more than 200 distinct bouldering areas around the village, plus numerous other outliers. The challenge is to get there.
Having a car: Without a car, you're almost out of luck. We were lucky enough to have a small outlying bouldering area across the railway within walking distance (feet sure were sore after those ~8 km every day!), but the other areas were simply too far. Lugging backpacks and crashpads across the entire town is not the most ideal situation.
If you don't want to waste money on taxis every time, consider finding accommodation close to the climbing area you want to explore. There's so many boulders, and it's almost impossible to 'try everything' within a short visiting timeframe.
The locals are so nice... Many people may be willing to drive you to the trailhead for a small cost. We were so lucky to stay at Gites de France Citybreak Fontainebleau Avon, with the BEST hosts Pierre and Nine - an amazing 2-person Air BnB, likely one of the best Air BnB's I've stayed at! https://www.gites-de-france.com/fr/ile-de-france/seine-et-marne/seine-et-foret-77g612?adults=2&children=0&infants=0
Climbing gyms: Rained out? Karma Fontainebleau (https://karma-escalade.fr/fr/fontainebleau/la-salle) is ~1 hour walking from Avon and sits in the forest just outside the residential Font neighbourhoods. Definitely a must-see, even if it takes a full day of walking!
Sightseeing: everything is closed on Tuesdays (bakeries, castle, etc.)
Don't rely on that famous bakery downtown to be open whenever you're there. Tuesdays are Fontainebleau's "off day," and subsequently, castle tours (museum) are also closed.
However, the crashpad renting company downtown (Fontainebleau Crash-Pads https://fontainebleau-crashpads.com/) are open week-long from 10 am to 7 pm, with excluding midday lunchbreaks. This is a reliable climbing store that lets you pre-book your crashpads and pick up in-store. 100% recommend!
The Fontainebleau Crash-Pads website is also great to check out looking for must-try boulder problems! They list 'top picks' and the (arguably) best climbs in the area!
Sightseeing beautiful Fontainebleau! Click to view larger size of our photos from walking along those picturesque streets, exploring the 16th-century Fontainebleau Castle (including Napoleon Bonaparte's bedchamber!) 😍
Last but not least: the sand!!! 🤣
Fontainebleau is famous for being composed of sandstone, therefore many popular climbing areas consist of boulders 'dropped' in beach-like sand/sanded soil. The sand is very fine and gets in EVERYTHING - crashpads, shoes, clothes, hair...
If this is something that might bother you - especially if you're renting crashpads to be returned in perfect, unsanded condition - Fontainebleau has so many other, smaller climbing areas. For example, those unshaded, sandy areas will get absolutely scorching, and even the most aesthetic well-known boulders will simply be too greasy to send.
It is also highly recommended to dust/wipe off your shoes before getting on any climbs, as sand rubbing against the sandstone climb contributes to micro-erosion and wears the rock down over time. Similarly, sandstone is very fragile when wet, so it is for the best of the climbing community to wait it out when raining.
Examples of very sandy, full-sun areas:
Cul du Chien
Trois Pignons
Forested alternatives: (would recommend checking out!)
Bas-Cuvier (the most popular, highest-traffic area - featuring the famous La Marie-Rose, 6a)
Rocher Canon
Franchard Isatis
Cuvier Rempart
Apremont Ouest (good choice to escape the crowds!)
Climbing at Karma Fontainebleau - AMAZING setting and what a cool comp wall to look at!
What surprised you the most when visiting Fontainebleau?
Let me know in the comments!
-- Sophia
Comments