‘The true house of kings’

Visitors to Paris almost inevitably take a day away from the city to see the nearby Chateau de Versailles, seat of kings during the French golden age in the 17th and 18th centuries.

That’s all well and good, except that it misses Fontainebleau, a royal chateau almost as close to town occupied by French kings for 700 years, beginning in the Middle Ages when it was a hunting lodge.

In the 16th century, Francis I (1494-1547) gave the castle on the edge of the royal Forest of Fontainebleau a makeover, importing artists from Italy who brought the Renaissance with them. Henry IV (1553-1610) created the garden, with its canal and patterned parterres. After degradation during the French Revolution, Napoleon -- who called Fontainebleau “the true house of kings” -- restored the chateau in the distinguished Empire style.

Et voila: The chateau you see today as you approach along the Rue Royale from Paris, enter the gate and stand in the White Horse Courtyard, gazing at the famous horseshoe staircase where Napoleon said goodbye to his troops before going into exile in 1814.

Visitors can tour the Grands Appartements at will, with audio guides to point out the remarkable late Renaissance frescoes, framed in richly modeled stucco, and Napoleon’s suite, where the workaholic emperor and general rarely slept through the night.

Guided tours are available for the Petits Appartements and Napoleon Museum. The beautiful gardens are open daily, free of charge.

Royal patronage made the town of Fontainebleau prosper, and it is still a handsome place today full of shops, restaurants and hotels. Elegant cafes overlook the Place Napoleon Bonaparte with its pollarded trees and restored carousel. The Seine winds nearby past quiet stone villages and at almost every turning, paths beckon into the Forest of Fontainebleau.

Fontainebleau can be reached from Paris’ Gare de Lyon in about 45 minutes; package tickets including train fare, bus connections and chateau entrance can be purchased at the station.

The Fontainebleau Tourist Office is near the chateau on Rue Royale, 011-331-60-74-99-99, www.fontainebleau-tourisme.com.

Bikes can be rented at A la Petite Reine, 32 Rue des Sablons, 011-33-1-60-74-57-57.

The Aigle Noir, 27 Place Napoleon Bonaparte, 011-33-1-60-7460-00, www.hotelaiglenoir.fr, is an attractive, centrally located inn founded in 1764; doubles start around $200. Behind it is the Ibis Hotel, 18 Rue de Ferrare, 011-33-1-60-23-45-25, www.ibishotel.com, a sound budget choice; doubles start around $90.

Two good places to eat: Au Delice Imperial, 1 Rue Grande, 011-33-1-64-22-22-70, a distinguished bakery-cafe on the Place Napoleon Bonaparte, and La Ferrare, 23 Rue de France, 011-33-1-60-72-37-04, a classic French cafe a few doors down from ReelBooks, an excellent English-language bookstore.

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The village and the forest

THE BEST WAY TO BARBIZON

From LAX, Air Tahiti Nui and Air France fly nonstop to Paris. Delta, United, American and Lufthansa offer connecting service (change of planes). Restricted round-trip fares begin at $538. The village of Barbizon is about 35 miles southeast of Paris via autoroutes A6 and N37. The train from Gare de Lyon in Paris to Fontainebleau/Avon takes about 40 minutes.

TELEPHONES

To call the numbers listed below from the U.S., dial 011 (the international dialing code), 33 (the country code for France) and the number.

WHERE TO STAY

Auberge des Alouettes, 4 Rue Antoine Barye, 1-60-66-41-98, www.barbizon.net, has clean, amiable, if slightly threadbare rooms above a restaurant in an eclectic 1883 country villa built for philosopher Gabriel Seailles and his artist-wife, Jeanne; doubles start around $80, including breakfast; three-course dinner about $45.

L’Hotellerie du Bas-Breau, 22 Grande Rue, 1-60-66-40-05 or (800) 735-2478, www.relaischateaux.fr

/basbreau, was a favorite haunt of many Barbizon artists, though its most famous guest was the writer Robert Louis Stevenson. There is a swimming pool, pleasant garden and gourmet restaurant; doubles start around $355; 3-course dinner around $100.

WHERE TO EAT

Auberge du Grand-Veneur, on Highway N7 near Barbizon, 1-60-66-40-44, is an old French country inn famous for game grilled at a yawning fireplace in the elegant dining room; three-course dinner about $100.

Boucherie de l’Angelus, 64 Grande Rue, 1-60-66-40-27, can provide the makings for an excellent picnic lunch.

Brasserie L’Atelier les Pleaides, 21 Grande Rue, 1-60-66-40-25, is a casual restaurant with a terrace featuring dishes such as moules-frites; two-course dinner about $40. It is in the stylish new Hotel les Pleaides, set to open in early summer. The hotel will have a swimming pool and 23 rooms; doubles will start around $250.

TO LEARN MORE

French Government Tourist Office, www.franceguide.com.

Fountainebleau Tourist Office, 4 Rue Royale, 1-60-74-99-99, www.uk.fontainebleau -tourisme.com.

There is a small tourist office in the village of Barbizon on Rue Theodore Rousseau near the Salon des Fetes.