An eight-hour flight over the Atlantic was all it took to travel 4,487 miles to Paris. I recently shared how we found this cheap flight out of Orlando on my Travel FAQ post. We arrived midday and after catching a train to the city center spent the afternoon strolling through the heart of Paris. Later, as we walked along the Seine river we passed by Notre Dame which was lined with armored guards and news reporters. Only two days earlier the cathedral was engulfed in flames.
After stopping by a bakery to grab a Caprese baguette and chocolate eclair we met our friend Jon. He has been studying abroad in Krems, Austria since February and we were lucky enough that his spring break lined up with our trip. Once we planned the trip we purchased tickets to Fontainebleau and took the hour-long winding train headed south.
Some people might question why we would trade time in Paris for the small town of Fontainebleau? Paris may have the Eiffel Tower but Fontainebleau has world-class bouldering and lots of it. We were so excited to try climbing in Fontainebleau France. During our two-day visit, we climbed the famous French circuits, ate the best pizza of my life, and shopped like locals at a springtime farmers market.
BETA
The town of Fontainebleau is completely surrounded by the Fontainebleau forest. It takes about 15-30 minutes to walk from the city center to any edge of the forest. When choosing accommodations I would suggest first choosing what area you would like to climb in. After looking at the area we decided to book this Airbnb for our two-night stay. It took us twenty minutes or so to walk to the nearest bouldering area so there was no need to rent a car. Though next time we come climbing here we plan to stay for at least a week and rent a car to reach some of the further bouldering areas.
Bouldering in Fontainebleau also has some great lodging suggestions on their website. Check it out!
S’Cape Fontainebleau is the place to go for gear, guidebooks, and crash pad rentals. I would suggest you call and reserve a pad before your stay if they’re available. That way you don’t miss out if it’s a busy weekend.
MORE AIRBNB SUGGESTIONS
Cozy studio in the heart of Fontainebleau (pictured left), City center apartment (pictured middle), Quiet downtown apartment (pictured right)
Château de Fontainebleau
After visiting the market we walked to the boulder fields carrying our fresh baguette.
THE BOULDERING
Fontainebleau is considered one of the most popular bouldering destinations in the world and for a good reason. Sandstone boulders, similar to ones you would find at HP40, are scattered throughout the forest. To give you some perspective of how big it is, Fontainebleau has over 30,000 established problems while Horse Pens 40 has around 300.
As I mentioned earlier, Fontainebleau is known for its colorful circuits. In the Font, a circuit is a group of boulder problems ticked a certain color to indicate the grade range. Instead of focusing on one climbing project, you are supposed to climb multiple routes to increase strength and stamina. From blue to red, you simply pick the difficulty of the circuit based on the color and start tackling one of the many problems. There are options for all ability levels, even beginners! Since we weren’t familiar with the system we used the chart from Rock & Run (as shown below) and decided to work on the Blue circuit.
Color Circuit/ | Grade Range (Font)/ | Grade Range (V-Grade) |
Yellow | 1A – 3C | VB – V0 |
Orange | 2A – 4B | VB – V0 |
Blue | 3C – 5C | V0 – V2 |
Red | 4C – 6C | V1 – V4 |
Black | 5B – 7A | V1 – V6 |
White | 6B+ – 7C+ | V4 – V10 |
We were so happy to end up climbing in Fontainebleau France one of the world’s most classic bouldering fields.