La Forêt qui parle: learning to listen to Fontainebleau

Stories among the trees

La Forêt qui parle is run by Geneviève Dumant, a storyteller based in Fontainebleau. Her walks around Franchard combine observation of the environment, experience of the forest and stories for children and adults. The initiative still appears in the Reserve’s current eco-actor directory.

Use the contact details in that directory to ask about the next date, current format and confirmed meeting point.

The name also suggests a different way of walking: a stroll becomes an encounter as soon as you stop talking long enough to listen.

Fontainebleau does not have a single sound. Near a road, traffic is a reminder that this is a heavily visited forest. A few hundred metres farther on, wind in the pines, dry leaves, a woodpecker or rain on sandstone creates an entirely different soundscape.

A listening walk in five steps

Choose a short loop on an open trail and give it more time than you expect. Walk for ten minutes without a goal, then stop somewhere you will not block the path.

1. Close your eyes for one minute and count the layers of sound, from the nearest to the farthest.
2. Look at the ground without touching it. Sand, needles, leaves and small fragments of sandstone tell you about the place you are crossing.
3. Look for signs of human passage, such as a widened trail, a waymark or an old paving stone.
4. Begin walking again and lower your voice. Other visitors have come to find their own moment.
5. On the way back, note one thing you heard and one thing you saw. The memory may last longer than a long series of photographs.

Do not play recorded calls to attract birds. Do not move dead wood or stones for a better look because small creatures already use these shelters.

Start in the right place

Franchard is a good place for a first reading of the landscape because the relief changes quickly. Barbizon and the Trois Pignons offer a different atmosphere, with more open ground in places. Choose from our walks and routes, then check the current ONF map.

Some areas may remain closed or change status following the fires of July 2026. A barrier or sign on the ground always takes priority over the route shown on your phone.

Find an accompanied walk

If you would like to name the trees, understand the geology or discover older uses of the forest, choose an activity announced by the Biosphere Reserve or a qualified guide. Our Events page leads to current calendars.

On a family outing, let go of the urge to explain everything. One footprint, one piece of bark and a shared minute of silence can be enough to make everyone want to return.