Barbizon

From the 1830s painters began staying at the Auberge Ganne in Barbizon to work directly from the Fontainebleau forest, and what became the Barbizon school, Theodore Rousseau, Millet, Daubigny, Corot and others, made landscape and peasant life the subject rather than the background, painting outdoors from observation. Millet's The Gleaners and The Angelus were made here. Their argument with the academy prepared the ground for Impressionism a generation later. The Auberge Ganne is now a museum with the painted walls and furniture the artists decorated, and Millet's studio on the main street is preserved.

What you actually see

• The Auberge Ganne - the inn where painters lodged, with their painted panels.
• Millet's studio - his workshop on the village's single main street.
• The forest edge - Fontainebleau woodland the school painted directly.
• The village street - galleries and houses along one long road.

When to go

April to October for the forest and light; autumn colour in Fontainebleau suits the subject. Museums close on Tuesdays and some in winter. The village is small and quiet.

Honest expectations

The village is a single street and covered in a couple of hours. Most of the famous paintings are in the Orsay, not here. Getting there without a car is awkward.

Nearby

Fontainebleau lies southeast; the forest surrounds the village.