Route Fontainebleau-Barbizon, by bike

If you leave from the Fontainebleau tourist office, take the rue de la paroisse at the traffic lights and turn right into rue Grande.

Continue straight on rue Denecourt

At the traffic circle, take the last exit on the right into rue Royale towards the north

Follow the boulevard Maginot

Turn left on rue Paul Tavernier, at the end of the street at the intersection turn left again on rue Royal towards Insead

Before the 2nd crosswalk turn right towards Boulevard Constance. Walk along the boulevard and Insead on the sidewalk and take the underpass

Cross the first ONF barrier and the "FB" marking appears on the ground as well as green markers on the trees and barriers. You go along the wall of the Faisandrie until the crossroads of the rooster

Information about the Faisandrie departure You can also come by car to the Faisandrie in order to benefit from the free parking and leave from there, on foot or by car. You are then in front of the forest initiation center of the ONF which realizes animations for the groups and distributes documentation on the forest.

Then you turn to the right by the forest road Poinsinet.

After having gone up the Poinsinet road, you arrive at a crossroads of 8 roads and you oblique to the left after having left two roads to take the 3rd one with a barrier with central passage. This is the Duplessis Mornay road which is paved.

At the end you cross carefully the D409 road and opposite, with a similar barrier, begins the road to the castle which is paved and forbidden to cars.

You enter a forest planted under Napoleon I. After a climb you are on a limestone plateau where the road winds through younger trees, either from seedlings or from 20 or 30 year old plantations. Pass several intersections to arrive at the crossroads of Cépées.

It is necessary to cross with caution the Route Ronde or D 301, in direction of the Gorges d'Apremont.

You then take the road of the Gorge aux Néfliers. Be careful, cars are allowed in both directions on this road. Keep your right.

The road goes down towards the crossroads of the Gorge aux Néfliers then goes up between two embankments. You drive under a 200 years old oak forest then the landscape suddenly lights up on a rocky moor, on the right: it is the beginning of the Apremont gorges where the rocks dominate on more than 500ha.

Information panorama of Apremont On foot, you can walk to a large viewpoint. Continuing the circuit, the road descends in curves, embedded between large embankments and rocks. Beware of the cars that come up and are seen at the last moment.

When the slope becomes gentler, very old oak trees are visible here and there. These are the remains of the trees that served many times as models for the painters of Barbizon. You are on the Sully road.

Then the road turns rather abruptly to the right to reach a vast crossroads with a refreshment bar: it is the crossroads of Bas Bréau. There a sign indicates "Barbizon 1km".

Straight ahead on the "Allée aux vaches" The tarred road is called "Allée des vaches" because in the past cattle were allowed to graze in the forest on condition that they had only one communal shepherd and that they followed a single access road. More than 10,000 cattle and 6,000 pigs were allowed in the forest during the reign of Louis XIV, but by the time the painters arrived, only 1,000 were left.

You enter Barbizon by the rue Grande, it is a one way street after the town hall

You will turn left on rue de la Belle Marie

Turn right on rue Jean François Millet and then on rue Théodore Rousseau to arrive to Barbizon tourist office at the end of the street and the Barbizon painters' museum.

To return, take Théodore Rousseau Street in the direction of the main street.

Turn right into the main street, go to the end and take the cow path. You can go up to see the bronze medallion in honor of Millet and Rousseau, halfway up the slope, in the rocky massif on the right. Further up, a plaque reminds us that, thanks to the painters, the first worldwide measure to protect mature trees was taken in Fontainebleau in 1861 with the creation of artistic reserves, which later became biological reserves.

At the end of the allée des vaches, turn right onto the route Marie-Thérèse.

In the bend, leave the asphalt and go straight ahead. You pass between two rocks, the biggest of which is called "la tête de chien". Turn around for a moment to see the stone snout... . It is still the Marie-Thérèse road which goes up gently after the barrier and which will avoid you the dangerous slope which you descended while coming. The signs "FB" are painted on the trees as well as green markers.

After many detours, the gravel road arrives on the plateau and becomes straight along a fence on the right. At the Chêne des Marais intersection, turn left onto Rue des Monts Girard. More fences, protecting young trees, extend to the right.

At the crossroads of Monts Girard, turn left onto the Cul de Chaudron road where you drive under a beautiful forest.

At the end, you find, on the right, the arrival circuit on the plateau of Apremont.

Continue straight ahead on the route du Bousquet du roi until the crossroads of Paris.

At the carrefour de Paris, Cross the D 607 through the underpass, turn right on route Paul until the crossroads of Louis Philippe

Pass the crossroads, and continue on the Louis Philippe road which turns slightly to the right. You will cross 2 roads (Route de la butte aux Aires and Adelaïde) then you will arrive at the crossroads of Mont Pierreux

After the crossroads, continue on the Louis Philippe road, pass on your left the place of the dead fighters for France to arrive at the traffic lights.

From here you arrive in the city center. Be careful with the traffic. At the traffic light, cross the boulevard Maréchal Joffre, you arrive on avenue de Verdun.

Straight on avenue de Verdun which becomes rue de la paroisse. Continue straight on.

Continue straight ahead until you reach the place de la république to arrive at the tourist office.