La Folie Barbizon

Hotel 4-star, artist residence and locavore restaurant at the forest edge. 21 rooms each designed by a contemporary artist.

Description

La Folie Barbizon is a hotel, artist residence and event space at 5 Grande Rue, reopened in 2025 after a full creative renovation. 21 rooms each conceived in collaboration with a different artist -- ceramicists, painters, architects. Restaurant by chef Eric Fava celebrates local producers and the forest. Garden, bar, regular arts programming and workshops.

Historical context

Founded by Lionel Bensemoun, the impresario behind Le Baron and Villa Lena in Tuscany, La Folie occupies a large maison de maitre at the western end of the Grande Rue where the village gives way to the plain. Each room is a living artwork. The restaurant is resolutely locavore -- products sourced from farms within cycling distance, a menu that changes with the week. Gault & Millau selected. The spirit is that of the original Barbizon: artists and curious visitors living and working side by side.

Historical research: grappilles.fr — Barbizon Histoire et Patrimoine

Related places

Additional locations in the Hotel group.

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Hôtel Les Pléiades

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Hotellerie du Bas-Breau

Historic 4-star hotel and restaurant in a shaded 2-hectare park at the edge of the forest.

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Nearby

Within reach on foot—village lanes and forest edge.

Heritage Site

0 m

La Folie Barbizon -- Site historique

Ancienne demeure de villegiature du XIXe siecle, aujourd'hui hotel 4 etoiles. L'une des proprietes historiques de la Grande Rue, temoin de l'epoque ou Barbizon attirait peintres et aristocrates parisiens.

ATM

115 m

Distributeur / La Poste

ATM and post office on the Grande Rue.

Historic Paint Spot

133 m

Plaine de l'Angelus et Ferme du Couvent

La plaine agricole a l'ouest de Barbizon ou Millet peignit L'Angelus et Les Glaneuses. La Ferme du Couvent, ancienne dependance monastique, marque l'entree de la plaine depuis le village.