Thinking we will visit Fountainbleu instead of Versailles...

Trains run every hour, a bit more at rush hour. Sometimes there is engineering work at the weekend, you can check the link below with Google translate:
https://maligner.transilien.com/travaux-ligne-r/#calendriers
If that happens on your dates... pick another chateau.

The station is a short bus ride away from the palace. Walking one way though the park, along the canal, is very pleasant, but it does take 30-40 minutes I reckon (only ever biked that way), so doing it both ways is a lot.

Versailles is easier to get to, overall, but Fontainebleau is not much harder so do not let that be a deciding factor.

Just to be sure,

Do you mean Fontainebleau ?

Lol - yes, Fontainebleau - silly me!

I must admit that "Fountainbleu" is more pleasant to pronounce in French than Fontainebleau

If you haven't seen Versailles, I think this is a mistake. Fontainbleau is a fairly ordinary chateau with a not very scenic garden; it is historically important but not visually particularly interesting. Versailles is singular. The experiences are nothing alike. Versailles has amazingly elaborate public rooms and a garden filled with stunning fountains -- as well as the wider park. It is easy to see why cutting off the heads of aristocrats was a good idea if you have been to Versailles. More similar to Versailles would be Vaux le Vicomte with a garden designed by the same architect that later did Versailles. But neither is close to Versailles in visual impact. Yes Versailles is crowded -- but there is a reason popular places are crowded. It is extraordinary. I have probably been in 20 French chateaux over the years -- Versailles is in a class by itself.

Agree with Janettravels44. Versailles has so much more to see and do than Fontainebleau. There is no comparison in my mind.

Yes, visiting Versailles is a better plan!!
Thank you for your constructive feedback!

Never had any problems regarding the train rides from Paris to Fontainebleau. Of course, I did miss the train on the return but that sort of thing was my fault.

I beg to differ. Versailles is stunning but the crowds are horrific. Maybe it's because I was there in 1972 and there were just a dozen other people in the Hall of Mirrors with me. It was more crowded in 1986. But from photos and videos I've seen in recent years... no thanks. We were at Fontainbleau in 2008 and enjoyed it and the lack of crowds.

We were there 3 years ago in May and didn't think the crowds were that terrible -- -but there is a reason there are crowds. You can go to a corner in Grand Rapids and find low crowds, but why would you? We were happy to visit Mont st. Michel in late October with no crowds and would recommend doing sites like that off peak tourist season. BUT there is a reason places like MSM and Versailles attract enormous crowds. I hear Machu Picchu is a mob scene and so is Angkor Wat -- Glad I got to Angkor Wat 20 years ago before the tourist boom there but crowds would not prevent me from visiting now if it were my first chance.

Pre-Covid every time I was at either, Versailles always had greater numbers of visitors, sometimes the place was inundated. Fontainebleau always had fewer visitors, almost a given. No problem with that, just depends if that bothers you or not.

Napoleonic reenactments are done at Fontainebleau such as that in April 2014 marking the 200th anniversary of his abdication and the Farewell to the Guard in the Courtyard. Unfortunately, I missed this singular event then because I was in Vienna and Berlin only on that short tip.

I agree with janet 100%. I’ve been to Versailles probably 30 times and am still blown away by it. I do love Vaux-le-Vicomte, and i really enjoyed Fontainebleau for it’s history, but if you haven’t been to Versailles that would be #1 in my humble opinion. I went to Versailles in Sept of 2019, June 2018, and Feb 2017, all on weekdays, and it was not crowded at all. Practically had the Hall of Mirrors (and every where else) to ourselves. The key, imo, is to go on a Thurs - not a weekend and definitely not on a Fountain Day, that is when it will be packed for sure.