Advice on Fontainebleau/Barbizon area

I cannot make a comparison as I haven't been to Barbizon, but I thought Fontainebleau was an easy and satisfying jaunt out of Paris. We took the train out of the Gare de Lyon and did a chateau stay for a couple of nights. The Chateau de Fontainebleau is worth 3-4 hours in my opinion. The town of Fontainebleau, which is immediately outside the chateau gates, is worth another 45 minutes-1 hour. Samois-sur-Seine is nearby, which is where the gypsy jazz musician Django Reinhardt lived and where there is a gypsy jazz festival each summer. The town has a pleasant promenade along the river. There is also the chateau that was the home of the artist Rosa Bonheur. Aside from the Barbizon school painters I know that Renoir, Manet and Monet liked to paint in the region.

I haven’t been in years, but Barbizon is a sweet little village. It was the home to an important group of painters, precursors to the Impressionists. There’s a small museum.

Unfortunately, I have only visited Barbizon once , Fontainebleau numerous times, almost a pilgrimage in the last 50 years.

If you have the time to see both without time pressure, do it.... well worth your time, all the more so, if you're into Napoleon when seeing Fontainebleau.

Thank you for the responses. We are definitely interesting in visiting both Fontainebleau and Barbizon, and are plannig to stay in one of these places. What we are unsure about is how much is there to do besides Fontainebleau and Barbizon, and how many full days should we allocate to the area.