Paris Day Trips: Château Vaux le Vicomte
Only 55 kilometres from Paris in the Seine-et-Marne region of France, the Château Vaux le Vicomte stands. It is the largest privately owned castle in France lovingly cared for by five generations of the de Vogüé family . Built in the 1600s by Nicolas Fouquet, Louis XIV’s head of finance, the people responsible for it’s sweeping exteriors and beautiful interiors are the interior designer Le Brun, the landscape designer Le Nôtre, and the architect Le Vau.
The castle was not only the setting for one of the biggest parties of the 17th century hosting around 3000 guests, but it also served as the model for what would become the Palace of Versailles. Louis XIV spent time at the castle and there is even a dessert that was created within its kitchens by François Vatel, crème chantilly.
You may recognize the exterior of Vaux le Vicomte. That’s largely due to the fact that it has been in around 70 different films and commercials including Dangerous Liasons, Marie Antoinette, Vatel, and Ridicule.
Getting a private tour of Vaux le Vicomte by one of its owners, Count Alexander de Vogüé, was definitely one of the highlights of my recent trip to Paris. Not only is the family committed to keeping the castle maintained but they have done something rather unusual with the castle: they have opened it up to some really wonderful events creating a historic space that is both incredible to experience but also extremely welcoming to visitors.
Here is a little tour of the views and rooms:
A view of the grand entrance to the castle :
And this is the Grand Salon which sits immediately inside of the entrance shown above. The salon had its doors open to the gardens on the day that I visited the castle which gave the castle a peaceful, relaxing atmosphere:
The King’s antechamber. Alexander was super kind and let us get a close look at the textile:
A view of the ceiling of the King’s antechamber:
(Click on the Read More below to see more photos from the Castle Vaux le Vicomte…)
Here is a detail from the ceiling in the King’s antechamber:
Salon d'Hercule:
Another view of Salon d'Hercule:
Chambre des Muses. The tapestry is part of a set of eight commissioned by Cardinal Barberini, the papal legate to Louis XIII:
Beautiful light in Cabinet des Jeux :
We visited the kitchens which are absolutely gorgeous and functional! There is talk of possibly hosting cooking events there at some point. Can you imagine?:
Another view of the kitchen area:.
A view of the gardens from the open doors of the Grand Salon:
Alexandre was kind enough to drive us around the gardens so that we could experience how serene and beautiful the views of the castle are from the gardens:
A view of the castle and its reflection:
And finally, a view from the outer reaches of the gardens as the sun started to descend in the sky and storm clouds created a perfect mood:
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