The Chateau at Fontainebleau

In the heart of a local forest, the chateau of Fontainebleau started life as a hunting lodge. It then became the summer residence for the kings of France, from Francois I to Napoleon III, each one of which made additions and changes to this magnificent building. With its lovely lakes and gardens it is now recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

When we arrived we discovered that, on the first Sunday each month, entrance is free. This has advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is obvious but it also meant that it was very busy with tourists from all over the world. However, it is a vast building and with many hectares of gardens we were able to explore without other visitors troubling us greatly. Apart from a coffee machine it is not possible to even get a drink in the chateau itself. So we went into the town for lunch and managed to avoid the worst of the rain showers that arrived, yet again, today.

We now needed to return to the marina, which was about 4 or 5 kms away. Taxis were nowhere to be found so we set of walking back to the boat. This was potentially a problem because Sue and Ian needed to catch a train, back to Paris, later that afternoon. The station was about half way back to the boat so we made a diversion and were able to engage a taxi that was already dropping somebody off to catch a train. The driver agreed to return us to the boat and then take Ian & Sue back to catch their train; which saved a great deal of walking.

All Aboard for Fontainebleau

For three days we have been joined by our friends and neighbours, Ian & Sue. The plan was to spend a couple of days cruising up the Seine from Paris, followed by a trip to the Chateau at Fontainebleau. The Seine, upstream of Paris, proved to be the most delightful part of the river that we have seen so far. Once we got past the industrial suburbs, the banks were lined with forests, and small villages with magnificent houses. This is where the wealthy Parisians have their weekend retreats.

Both Ian and Sue were willing to ‘have a go’ at both taking the helm and also helping with the locks. The locks, as usual, were extremely large and we were regularly joined by the vast French barges. These always have priority and, when they weigh up to 300 tons, you willingly let them go first.

At the end of the second day we moored at the Fontainebleau marina. The Captainaire offered to give us a lift to the chateau the following day which, being Sunday, meant that taxis were likely to be in short supply.