Area
172.05 km²
Populaiton
15,942

Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located 55.5 km. (34.5 miles) south-southeast from the center of Paris (as the crow flies). Fontainebleau is a sous-préfecture of the Seine-et-Marne département, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Fontainebleau.
Fontainebleau, together with the neighboring commune of Avon and three other smaller communes, form an urban area of 36,713 inhabitants (1999 census). This urban area is a satellite city of Paris.
Fontainebleau is renowned for its large and scenic Forest of Fontainebleau, a favorite weekend getaway for Parisians, as well as for the historical Château de Fontainebleau of the kings of France and INSEAD, one of the world's most elite business schools.
Inhabitants of Fontainebleau are called Bellifontains.

Fontainebleau is a popular tourist destination; each year, 300,000 people visit the palace and about 11 million people visit the forest

Fontainebleau forest
The forest of Fontainebleau surrounds the city and dozens of villages. It is protected by France's Office National des Forêts and is recognised as a national park that is managed partly to conserve its wild plants and trees (such as the Service Tree of Fontainebleau) and its valuable population of birds, mammals and butterflies. It is a former royal hunting park often visited by walkers and horse riders. The forest is also well regarded for bouldering, and is particularly popular amongst climbers.
Legend says that it was given to Robin Hood by Richard The Lionheart.

Royal Château de Fontainebleau
The Royal Château de Fontainebleau is a large castle where the Renaissance was introduced to France from 1528 onwards.

Other notable places

• The European (and historical) campus of INSEAD business school, and research laboratories from the École des Mines de Paris are located in Fontainebleau.
  
• The graves of G. I. Gurdjieff and Katherine Mansfield can be found in the cemetery at Avon.