The forest of Fontainebleau, formerly called forest of Beer (derived from heather), is an important wooded massif of 25 000 ha, of which 21 600 ha are today administered in state forest. This massif, in the center of which is the city of Fontainebleau, is located in Seine-et-Marne. The national forest proper covers 17 072 ha; It has an altitude varying from 42 m (Seine to Bois-le-Roi) to 144 m (Carrefour du Banc du Roi, 2 km north of Fontainebleau).
It is fragmented and crossed by the A6 motorway (1964), the national 6 and 7, and the line from Paris-Lyon to Marseille-Saint-Charles. Every year, millions of visitors come for a walk (13 million in 20063).
The Fontainebleau forest is famous around the world for having inspired nineteenth-century artists: Impressionist painters and Barbizon school, as well as photographers, writers and poets. It comprises 2,350 ha of biological reserves4, the origin of protection in the form of "artistic reserves" dating back to 1853, some of whose parts have not been cut since 1372.
Created 11/05/2018 by Romain Calvetti
