Fontainebleau is a small town that holds a very big place in French history, and the forest around it is one of the finest woods in Europe. The château was a royal residence for eight centuries, from medieval kings to Napoleon III, and each ruler added something, so that the building is a glorious jumble of styles. It was here, in the courtyard known as the Cour des Adieux, that Napoleon said goodbye to his guard in April 1814 before leaving for exile on Elba. The town of nearly twenty thousand people sits at about ninety metres above the sea, and it has every service, including several fuel stations.
The forest covers some twenty-five thousand hectares, and its sandstone boulders, heathland and tall trees make it unlike any other woodland near Paris. The rocks are the remains of ancient dunes, and some of them are the size of houses. In the nineteenth century, painters of the Barbizon school came to work here, leaving the studios of Paris to paint the trees and light directly, and their work helped lead to Impressionism. Today climbers come from around the world to scale the boulders, in a sport that was practised here long before it had a name, and the climbing area is known simply as Bleau.
The forest roads are a joy to ride. They run through beech and oak, with long gentle bends and flickering light, and the tarmac is usually in good shape. However, the speed limit is low, and police and cameras are active, so stay within it. Wild boar and deer cross the road, especially at dawn and dusk, and cyclists and walkers are everywhere on sunny weekends. On wet days, the leaves and pine needles make corners treacherous, so take care.
Spend a little time in the town if you can. The streets around the château have cafés and restaurants, and pastry shops where a slice of something sweet makes a fair reward. A walk in the palace gardens, with their carp pond and formal parterres, is a gentle way to rest between rides.