Paris & Île-de-France

Palaces and Forests

Three days around Paris: Versailles, Fontainebleau forest and Vaux-le-Vicomte.

This circuit leaves the capital for royal residences and Île-de-France landscapes. Versailles fills a first day between the Hall of Mirrors and the gardens, Fontainebleau the second between château and Denecourt forest trails, and the third combines Vaux-le-Vicomte and Moret-sur-Loing on the Scandibérique.

Duration: 3 days
Distance: Environ 95 km de route
Pace: Car and walking
Season: Spring to autumn

The circuit on the map

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Day-by-day stages

Day 1

1
Palace of Versailles — full dayVisit
Versailles · Yvelines
Hall of Mirrors in the morning, gardens and Trianon in the afternoon.
Place guide

Day 2

1
Palace of FontainebleauVisit
Fontainebleau · Seine-et-Marne
Eight centuries of rulers, from the Middle Ages to Napoleon.
Place guide
2
Denecourt trails — gorges and bouldersTrail
Forêt de Fontainebleau
Gorges d'Apremont and viewpoints among the forest's finest boulders.
Trail details
3
Barbizon, painters' villageStopover town
Seine-et-Marne
Studios and inn of the Barbizon school, at the edge of the forest.

Day 3

1
Château de Vaux-le-VicomteVisit
Maincy · Seine-et-Marne
The masterpiece that inspired Versailles: château, formal gardens and horse-drawn carriages.
Place guide
2
Moret-sur-Loing on the ScandibériqueTrail
Seine-et-Marne
A EuroVelo 3 stage, between medieval streets and landscapes painted by Sisley.
Trail details

Photos

Façade du château de Versailles — Michael Plasmeier (ThePlaz) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Château de Fontainebleau et jardins — Nemanja Stijak · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte — Jebulon · Domaine public · Wikimedia Commons

History

Around Paris, sovereigns built residences to match their power. From 1528 Francis I rebuilt Fontainebleau and installed the first Gallery of France there; the château remained the kings' favourite residence up to Napoleon. Vaux-le-Vicomte, completed in 1661 for superintendent Fouquet, brought together architect Le Vau, decorator Le Brun and gardener Le Nôtre for the first time: Louis XIV's anger at this masterpiece led to Fouquet's arrest — and to the birth of Versailles, where the same three men transposed their genius to the scale of a kingdom.

The forest of Fontainebleau, made the world's first artistic reserve in 1861, became the terrain of the Barbizon school painters and of Parisian climbers. From 1837 Claude-François Denecourt marked out the first waymarked footpaths in history, dotted with carved boulders and belvederes. To the south, Moret-sur-Loing, a stage on the Scandibérique, keeps its medieval gates and the landscapes Alfred Sisley painted all his life.

Tips

Versailles deserves a full day: Hall of Mirrors and state apartments in the morning, gardens and Trianon in the afternoon, on foot or by small electric car.
At Fontainebleau, plan the château in the morning and the Denecourt trails in the afternoon; the Gorges d'Apremont are ten minutes from the château by car.
Vaux-le-Vicomte has no public transport: plan a car, or the seasonal shuttle from Melun.
The gardens are the stars of the weekend: check the 'musical fountains' days at Versailles and Vaux, they transform the visit.

Trails and cycle routes used

Sentiers Denecourt

Fontainebleau Forest on foot — the Denecourt trails

160 km de circuits balisés · Easy to strenuous

See the stages

EuroVelo 3

The Scandibérique — Paris, Fontainebleau and the Gâtinais

150 km (section parisienne) · Easy to moderate