Vaux-le-Vicomte

Vaux-le-Vicomte (Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte) is a classic French manor-palace of the 17th century located in the vicinity of Melun, 55 km southeast of Paris. The palace has gained popularity for its sophisticated architecture and a large adjacent park.

Vaux-le-Vicomte is interesting for its historical role, as it became a kind of test of the pen for the creators of Versailles and several other architectural monuments. And today this palace is considered one of the most beautiful in all of France.

The history of this French castle is completely connected with a very controversial personality - Nicolas Fouquet. He acquired a country estate in 1641, when he was only 26 years old. The estate was located a day's drive from Paris, near the then royal residences. But it was just a piece of land with a small estate, which was forgotten for many years. The construction of the castle began only in 1656.

15 years later, having reached the position of the chief financier of France, Fouquet started the construction of the best private palace in France at that time, inviting three of the greatest professionals of his time - the architect Louis Leveaux, landscape architect Andre Le Nôtre and interior artist Charles Lebrun. The collaboration of the three craftsmen produced a monument that became the first example of the Louis XIV style, which was based on the unity of architecture, interior decoration and park landscapes. The main house is surrounded on four sides by a moat with water.

On August 17, 1661, Fouquet celebrated a solemn housewarming party, at which Moliere and La Fontaine performed. The magnificent acquisition (among other charges) was used by Colbert to attack Fouquet, the king gave Colbert consent, and on September 5 Fouquet was arrested by D'Artagnan. The king confiscated Vaux-le-Vicomte; the team of Leveaux, Le Nôtre and Lebrun went over to the construction of the royal palace at Versailles.

The Vaux-le-Vicomte palace attracts tourists from all over the world. In the summer season, romantic walks by candlelight are organized in the evenings in Vaux-le-Vicomte: 2000 candles are displayed in the palace and in the park and music is played.

The Vaux-le-Vicomte palace organises a lot of interesting events, weddings, candle evenings etc.

We offer excursions to Vaux-le-Vicomte with departure from Paris.

• Official website: https://vaux-le-vicomte.com/

• Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaux-le-Vicomte