Department
Museums, galleries and heritage in Seine-et-Marne
55 places to discover across Seine-et-Marne.
Including Château de Fontainebleau, Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte and Château de Blandy-les-Tours.
Towns to explore
Achères-la-Forêt · Barbizon · Boissy-le-Châtel · Brie-Comte-Robert · Bussy-Saint-Georges · Champs-sur-Marne · Chelles · Chessy · Combs-la-Ville · Coulommiers · Coupvray · Dammarie-les-Lys · Égreville · Fontainebleau · La Ferté-sous-Jouarre · Lagny-sur-Marne · Le Mée-sur-Seine · Maincy · Meaux
A Department Between Royal History and Rural Landscapes
Seine-et-Marne is the largest department in Île-de-France, and its scale shows in the diversity of its cultural sites: a former royal residence, a fortified medieval town, forest villages that once housed entire schools of painters, and industrial museums tied to aerospace manufacturing.
At its center stands the Palais et parc de Fontainebleau, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the few French royal residences continuously furnished since the Renaissance. Its collections are managed today by the Musée national du château de Fontainebleau, which holds Domain National status.
To the east, Provins, ville de foire médiévale preserves ramparts, towers and underground galleries from its heyday as a major medieval trade fair town, inscribed on the UNESCO list since 2001.
Cities and Towns Worth the Detour
Meaux combines its episodic role in French religious history with the Musée Bossuet, set within the Cité épiscopale alongside the Jardin Bossuet and the cathedral.
Melun, the department's préfecture, holds the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Melun, while Nemours pairs its Château-Musée de Nemours with the prehistory museum mentioned above, both housed in or near the town's medieval castle.
Barbizon and the Painters of the Forest
The village of Barbizon, on the edge of the Fontainebleau forest, gave its name to a mid-19th-century movement of landscape painters who worked outdoors, directly from nature. The Musée départemental des peintres de Barbizon occupies the former Auberge Ganne, where many of these artists lodged, alongside the studio-house of Théodore Rousseau.
Jean-François Millet, one of the movement's central figures, lived and worked nearby; his house and studio are preserved as the Maison Atelier de JF Millet. Barbizon today still gathers a concentration of galleries devoted to this legacy, including Besharat Gallery & Museum, Galerie d'art Roz in Winter, Galerie L'Angélus and Galaxie des Arts.
Painting was not the department's only artistic output: at Thomery, the Musée Rosa Bonheur preserves the studio of the animal painter Rosa Bonheur, while at Égreville the
Frequently asked questions
How much time should I plan for visiting the Palais et parc de Fontainebleau?
Allow at least half a day: two to three hours for the château's state apartments and museum, plus time to walk the gardens and carp-filled canal.
Is Barbizon worth visiting if I only have one day in Seine-et-Marne?
Yes — the village concentrates the Musée départemental des peintres de Barbizon, the Maison Atelier de JF Millet, and half a dozen galleries within a short walk, making it a compact stop before or after the Fontainebleau forest.
Are the museums in Seine-et-Marne accessible by public transport from Paris?
Fontainebleau, Melun, Meaux and Nemours are all reachable by direct train from Paris; Barbizon and Provins require an additional bus or short taxi ride from the nearest station.
What is the best time of year to visit Provins?
Late spring through September, when the ramparts and towers are open longer and the town's medieval festival (held in June) animates the streets; winter visits are quieter but some towers close earlier.
Is entry to these museums generally free?
