Vaux-le-Vicomte
Seventeenth Century ChâTeau Built For Nicolas Fouquet By Le Vau, Le Brun And Le NôTre, Whose Splendour Led To His Arrest And Inspired Versailles; Privately Owned · Maincy, Ile-de-France
Vaux-le-Vicomte is the château that made Versailles. It was built from the late 1650s for Nicolas Fouquet, superintendent of finances to the young Louis XIV, by a team that had never worked together before: the architect Louis Le Vau, the painter Charles Le Brun and the gardener André Le Nôtre. In August 1661 Fouquet threw a lavish party there for the king, with a new Molière comedy and fireworks; within weeks he was arrested, and he spent the rest of his life in prison. The king then hired the same three men to build Versailles. The house is smaller and far more intimate than its royal copy, with an oval domed salon, painted ceilings and a roof walk under the dome. The gardens are the real show, a long formal perspective of parterres, pools, canals and statues full of optical tricks. The estate is still privately owned and closes for part of the year, confirm the season. Candlelit summer evenings are its most famous event, and Fontainebleau is about 30 minutes away.
Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, 77950 Maincy, Seine-et-Marne, Maincy, Ile-de-France, France
Vaux-le-Vicomte is a private estate and opens for a season rather than all year. It usually opens from around spring, often late March or April, to early November, then closes for the winter, and reopens for several weeks of Christmas decorations from late November or December to early January, confirm the current dates. In the open season it is generally open every day, from the morning until the early evening, with the last admission about an hour before closing, confirm. The gardens may stay open a little later than the house. The dome climb, the carriage museum and some rooms can close in bad weather or for private events, and the fountains run only on certain days and at set times, often on Saturday afternoons and some Sundays, confirm the fountain calendar. On many summer Saturday evenings from about May to early autumn the château and gardens are lit by thousands of candles and stay open late, often with fireworks, confirm the dates and the separate ticket. Tickets can be bought online, and the estate is sometimes hired for weddings, filming and corporate events, so check that nothing blocks your visit. Restaurants on site follow the same season.