It is a royal and imperial city: Fontainebleau has all the makings of a Paris-region paradise, with its magnificent château, its handsome gardens and its vast forest. In sunny weather as in every season, people come to take a boat ride on the Étang aux Carpes, stroll through the English Garden or the Garden of Diane, and admire the flowers in bloom… But above all, at the heart of this green haven, sits a tiny fountain. The Belle-Eau Fountain, which, as you’ve likely guessed, gave its name to the town that bears it.
The legend says this fountain took its name from the era when Fontainebleau was a royal hunting estate. Bléaud, one of the hounds belonging to the The King of France at the time, got separated in the forest during a royal hunt. Thirsty, he happened upon the spring where the fountain would later be built.
The feature remains visible within the English Garden at the Château de Fontainebleau, just beside the Étang aux Carpes. Among the famous French monarchs who lived there or, at least, stayed there temporarily, you can name Marie-Antoinette and her husband Louis XVI, Louis XV, Francis I... Today the château is accessible to all visitors and is regarded as one of the region’s finest highlights in Île-de-France.
