Fontainebleau to Barbizon

Barbizon

Yesterday we walked around Fontainebleau. Today's plan is to walk through the Forest of Fontainebleau to the artists' village of Barbizon, the focus of the Barbizon School of mid-nineteenth century painters: Theodore Rousseau, Daubigny and Corot among them. In preparation, we have read seemingly the only book available in English: Steven Adams's excellent The Barbizon School and the origins of impressionism. The Barbizon painters pioneered, at least in France, painting nature in situ - and paved the way for Monet and co.

The walk, downloadable from the Fontainebleau Office de Tourisme site, begins at the Office de Tourisme, just near the main gate of the chateau. You walk out of town on the Rue Royale, cross the main N7 road and pass by Fontainebleau's other claim to fame, the INSEAD business school. We just loved the sign to the "Executive Learning Space" - what might once have been called a library perhaps.

Very soon the road gives way to a track and you are in the forest, albeit that the trees are thinly spread.



We soon came on the first of the extensive and frequent FB (Fontainebleau-Barbizon) waymarks.



Rather to our surprise, the route turned out to be metalled the whole way, and subsequent waymarks were in the centre of the road. It was flat and to be honest a bit disappointing at first.



However, the route then climbed onto a plateau and after the half way point we entered an area of older trees which we could imagine had inspired Corot.



Then a sign on the right indicated a view point over the Gorges d'Apremont. We left our route and walk a short distance across a rocky area with trees which surely could have been the work of Corot.


The path, such as it was, ended at the rocky viewpoint. The gorges could not be seen directly, but after an hour or more in the trees the open view was a delight.



From here on, the forest became much more interesting, with massive rocks scattered among the trees, which were now on slopes leading down to the track. We could see now why the Barbizon painters based themselves there and not in Fontainebleau.



We came on a classic tree of the kind favoured by the painters. This one was helpfully labelled chene de Sully, the Sully Oak.


All throughout the route there had been many side tracks, often with helpful signs giving their names. We especially liked this one: the route de solitude.



Finally we came to a quiet road into Barbizon and followed it for a kilometre to reach the long narrow main street, seemingly full of hotels and gourmet restaurants.

The museums were unfortunately shut, as we had known they would be, but we did at least photograph the house of Theodore Rousseau before having the requisite gourmet lunch.


We got a taxi back.

Distance: about five miles.

Rating: four stars.