Please help a train challenged person get to Fontainebleu
 

Can anyone give me exact directions? I have the Navigo pass and was at Gare de Lyon today wandering in the abyss. And gave up. I'm sure it's simple. But not for me. And the information booths were closed. Any help is appreciated.

Sorry that you didn't find Fontainebleau, gomiki. From Gare de Lyon you can take the train to direction Montargis or MONTEREAU, it will stop at Fontainebleau. If the information booth is closed, you can look at the information screen (in TV form, everywhere in the gare) to see which train will stop at Fontainebleau.

You should be in the "Grand ligne" hall of Gare de Lyon to be able to find train to direction Montargis or MONTEREAU (which pass by Fontainebleau). Wherever you are in the station, look for the sign/arrow "Grand ligne" and follow it, til you arrive at the hall. You'll see many fellow passengers wandering around in the hall, waiting for their trains.

YOu should never just go to a train station without knowing what train you want and what the destination is. You aren't going to find a train just marked "Fontainebleau" on it. What's the NAvigo pass got to do with it, Fontainebleau isn't in Paris and you can't use Navigo passes on trains to other cities, it's for Paris.

The Fontainebleau website gives you detailed instructions on how to get there, including the exact trains
http://www.musee-chateau-fontaineble...t-Here?lang=en

Did you not look at a map, did you think Fontainebleau was in Paris?

Christina.. stop being rude.. your lecture is so awful. You are talking to a full grown adult asking for help,, stop sounding like a Harpy, OP admitted they needed help, not your scolding.
Why bother to help when you start with a scolding like that.. honestly does it make you feel like a superior person.

Christina, I read on multiple sources that the Navigo is good to zone 5 and that includes Fontainebleu. Is that incorrect?

Fury, thank you. And yes I did all of the above and was not successful. I was trying to determine my error.

The Navigo now covers through Zone 5 which may well include Fontainebleau. We used it to go to Vaux le Vicomte last year.

Perhaps the OP did look at a map and knows a lot more than you think she does.

1. If you have a Navigo zone 1-5, it covers Fontainebleau. Not all Navigo cards are of zone 1-5, but I suppose yours are.

2. In brief, you go to Gare de Lyon's Grand Ligne hall. Look on any information screen to find train to Montargis, Montereau or Laroche-Migennes (I forgot this one). Make sure that train stop at Fontainebleau (the screen will show it). Once there, take Bus 1 destined for Les Lilas, descends at the ‘Château’ stop.

3. Don't mind Christina. If she said you can't use Navigo passes on trains to other cities than Paris, then she doesn't know Paris, or Navigo.

Good luck!

justine and Judy, thank you.

Fury, honestly, I did that today and failed. At least I know I am on the right track. (Ha! No pun meant. Maybe I will find it on my next try!). Thank you for the details.

Next time try this...no trains required!

<B>http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/chapter-seventeen-nous-visitons-deux-chateaux-marveilleux/</B>

((H))

Good luck Gomiki ! Don't hesitate to ask for help - maybe write down FontainebleAu the French don't always catch foreign accents for their own locations.

Christina, la prochaine fois évite de dire des conneries à propos du navigo, tu as l'air de te la pêter en posant comme une locale et en fait tu es à côté de la plaque.

We used our Navigo card a year ago just fine to get to Fontainebleau Christina. Do you even realize how rude your posts sound?

Gomiki- once you get off at the train station, there will be a bus you can take to the gates. Your Navigo pass will cover that as well.

This website is helpful too:
http://parisbytrain.com/paris-to-fon...leau-by-train/

gomiki: if you did it but still didn't find train to Fontainebleau, maybe it's because the information screen didn't show the train to that direction yet? It can only show trains that will depart soon (within a timeframe of 40 mins approx.) You'll have to wait to see upcoming trains. To be sure, you may look at this timetable, put Paris Gare de Lyon into "Departure" and Fontainebleau Avon into "Arrival", hit your date and time, you'll see the next train:

https://www.transilien.com/en

Be sure to try again, Gomiki, as Fontainebleau is so worth it. I went about 8 years ago with a van tour (City Vision, maybe?) that also took you to Vaux le Viconte.
Easy, but I wanted more time at Fontainebleau than they gave us. And much more expensive than the train on your own, of course. So 2 years ago I went back on my own and enjoyed Fontainebleau even more.

Agree with you, Gare de Lyon is huge and confusing. My main problem was with the cashier at the ticket window! I forgot to say "Bonjour" to her before asking for a ticket (how COULD I be so stupid and crass!) and she refused to sell me the ticket until I finally figured out what her problem was). I almost missed the next train because of that. I'm still not sure if she hated tourists in general, or just confused Americans. And she had all the power!

Do try again, but just don't forget to say Bonjour before asking for anything!

And don't forget to learn to pronounce Fontainebleau correctly. I have noticed that many English speakers seem to think it is fon-ten-blew or fon-ten-bler for some reason, when you should actually say fon-ten-blow.

Thanks for all the encouragement and information. Fury, I think you may have solved the problem. Too early for the posted train.

Sue, I always say "bonjour" and that's quite a reminder!

kerouac, thank you for the correct pronoucnation. I was saying it the incorrect first way.

And don't forget to composte (punch) your ticket before boarding!

Ah, yes, gomiki. Do I ever commiserate. Once you're on the actual train, after a multilevel search, it's a piece of cake.

Although there is the occasional person like the cashier, most people you will encounter are very happy to help and particularly in Paris speak English-- many will go out of their way. Get to the station early and if you are having a problem, ask someone who's there on the spot. There have been a number of occasions when we've been helped by kind strangers.

Fontainebleu's train station is called Fontainebleu-Avon - about a mile or so from the chateau -I walked it easily but there are buses and of course taxis.