(Last Update: 23.01.2025) It's time for one of my favorites in our series of castles around Paris... Actually, I would like to say "my favorite", but there are so many "" among these castles.my favourite” but believe me, I can't decide which one I should highlight. If you want, let's visit them all together, one by one, and please help me decide. So, one of the most beautiful castles Château de Vaux le Vicomte – Vaux le Vicomte CastleLet's get to know this time.
Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte (castle dö vo lö viscount) – Vaux le Vicomte Castle, About 50 kilometers southeast of Paris, Melun near Maincylocated in, legendary a castle. Although when we think of castles, we mostly think of medieval castles that look like castles, but the French call palaces and castles "château", and the castles that we think of as castles are called "château-fort". Hence Vaux le Vicomte, modest It is a palace that is large in size but quite magnificent. If I said modest Built on a land of 500 hectares, including the main building and outbuildings It has a closed area of 2 hectares great manor…

Approximately 300.000 people visit Vaux le Vicomte Castle annually. I'm here, the first one November 2012, last one May 2018including in five times total I went and saw both winter and summer. Every situation was beautiful. For transportation Of course, the most practical method is to go by private vehicle. I always went with the car I used myself. Because although there is public transportation, the castle is not in a very public place and is a bit isolated. Driving in Paris As I mentioned in my article, I definitely do not recommend driving in Paris, but A car is the most enjoyable way to see these beautiful places around Paris. For those who will rent a car My most important suggestionThey must choose a vehicle with GPS or bring their own navigation device. Those who have international internet packages are lucky to be able to use the map applications they are used to on their mobile phones. Navigation devices are lifesavers, as the roads in France are unbelievably confusing - even for someone like me who has a strong sense of direction and map reading ability. on the road Village of Painters BarbizonDon't forget to stop by.
For those who do not have such opportunities Reaching this castle by public transportation always possible. For this East Railway Station'skin Province heading towards P-line i.e. taking the P Line trains Verneuil–l'Etang You have to get off at the station. Of course Before getting on the train, it is important to check whether the train stops at Verneuil – l'Etang. As I always say, every commuter train It does not stop at every station on the route; even if the line number is the same, not every train goes to the last station of that line, so it is useful to read the digital boards carefully while using the trains.

We can say that there is a train every hour towards Verneuil – l'Etang, the journey takes approximately half an hour - forty minutes, and a private bus called ChâteauBus departs from this station to Vaux le Vicomte Castle. You must buy the ticket for this bus online in advance. For this, you can look at the official web page link at the end of the article.
If you come by car, you will be comfortable. If you are not in a hurry, if you mark the "except toll roads" option on your GPS, you will have to travel instead of boring highways. in fancy ways After wandering around, he reaches the castle, right in front of him. free parking You leave your car and see the magnificent castle behind the iron bars. The entrance is on the right…

Vaux le Vicomte Castle Open every day from the beginning of April to the end of October. Also Noel It can be visited during the period. Yes, maybe you should visit this castle in nice weather, but Noel They also decorate the inside magnificently at the time, I suggest you don't miss it. For visiting hours, we can roughly say between 10:00 and 19:00; Last entry is at 17:45, but don't be that late anyway. This castle deserves at least a two-hour tour, or even half a day, in my opinion, with its garden. You can review current ticket prices and other details from the official website link at the end of the article.
So let's start our tour... After passing through the toll booths, you first come to a very beautiful courtyard. Here, on your right, there is a very nice restaurant that looks like a cafeteria. The garden is beautiful in good weather, and the inside is beautiful in bad weather. You may want to have your lunch here. When you pass through the door on the left diagonal, you will reach a much larger courtyard, the photo of which you see above. This was the section where the stables used to be, and today it is a museum where old horse carriages are exhibited. I advise you not to miss this place, when you enter the courtyard, turn right and enter through the door in front of you and visit this museum.

Musee des Equipages In this section, there are beautiful horse carriages, rickshaws, horse-related equipment, tiny models that children ride, in other words, beautiful objects. You wander through the halls and come out at the other end. In fact, the horse is so important in this country that it is not just a matter of words like in our country, you can see mounted police on the streets. Maisons-Laffitte You can come across people walking their horses in the middle of the road in places like Chantilly CastleThere is a place unto itself Horse Museum there is even.
When you exit the other end of the Musée des Equipages, you reach the other corner of the large courtyard. When you walk straight across and exit through the door in the middle, Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte appears before you again in all its glory on the right. From this angle the castle looks really beautiful. The fact that it was designed with an architectural plan built on an island protected by water all around, like medieval castles, adds a special beauty to the castle. In fact, with a childish imagination, one wishes there were crocodiles in these water channels, but there are no :)

You pass through the small bridge in the middle and reach the rectangular islet on which the castle is built, and you enter the castle through the large door in the middle. On the right, where ticket control is done and audio guidesFor children, behind the counter where 's can be purchased. period costumes You have the option to rent which is for kids It could be fun… Even though you see a magnificent oval hall right in front of you, we do not enter there immediately, we go to tour the castle (Although it may change due to restoration and works) we start from the left side and first go up the stairs.
Yes, Vaux le Vicomte Castle is also quite magnificent, but it seems like it is not just focused on being magnificent and large like other palaces in France, it seems to have a more livable, more realistic, more humane plan. That's why this castle has always seemed more livable to me than the others; While wandering around the rooms Provided that changes are made to the decoration Feels like I could live here :)

There are beautiful paintings on the walls of the castle. The most interesting of those paintings for us is the one whose photo you see above.Ambassade en TurquieI think it will be a work called ". An embassy in Turkey is depicted during the Ottoman period. One gets confused when you look at the decoration of the room where a painting is hanging and this painting on the wall... The room has an extremely heavy and gloomy decoration, and the painting takes you to completely different places...
One of the parts of the castle that excites me the most is the one whose photo you see below. La Fontaine's study. Yes, the famous one we read about when we were kids. Tales from La Fontaineauthor of Jean de la FontaineThis was once his study room. Because he had the castle built between 1656 and 1661. Nicolas FouquetLa Fontaine was under the auspices of… In this way, we can understand once again that writing very well is not enough to become a famous writer. Marketing is important, finance is important, suitable working conditions, and a little talent. If only I were given the opportunity like this A Week in Paris How many more books can I write like this :)

So who built the castle? Nicolas Fouquet (nikola fuke) who? His story is also interesting: Fouquet, the child of a very rich family, rose rapidly in his career as a successful lawyer after studying law. XIV. Louis During his reign, he was put in charge of the treasury, which had collapsed at that time. So we can say that he was the Minister of Finance of the period. And Fouquet is such an ambitious, such a wealth-loving person that He lends money from his own wealth to the treasury at high interest to save the French finance! He also adds to his wealth through tricks and tricks that are valid in every period of history.
Well, of course, you need a place to spend this much money, it holds the two most important palaces of the period. Vincennes Castle – Château de Vincennes Fontainebleau Castle – Château de Fontainebleau between royal road He built a legendary palace on this land, located in a critical location, by bringing together the best architects, artists and garden landscapers of the period.

Louis le Vauthe architecture of Charles Le Brun's decorations and decorations, André Le NôtreAfter the construction of this magnificent castle, where the garden landscape was undertaken by the owner of the castle, Fouquet, the king of France, XIV. Louis throws a party in his honor and whatever happens happens after that.
It is said that the king, who had been following Fouquet's corruption and power struggles for a long time, after seeing the magnificence of the Vaux le Vicomte Castle and the pomp in it, asked - so to speak - "Where does the water for this mill come from?" He gets Fouquet arrested just when he was expecting to become prime minister, and Fouquet spends the rest of his life in dungeons. The rest of the story is a bit shady, but quite interesting: The King, the Castle of Vaux le Vicomte jealous Famous people with whom Fouquet worked Palace of VersaillesHe's getting it done! The missing part of the story is that those who built Vaux le Vicomte Castle were already working under the king's command. Still, this story is told as a romantic detail.

Even though the ending is quite sad, it is obvious that Fouquet once lived a wonderful life here. After Fouquet's death in prison, this place - naturally - was left to his heirs, but over time, when he had no heirs left, a general from the army first bought it, but when he could not cope with the expenses of the castle, he disposed of it.
How should he cope? I will never forget, when we first settled in Paris, when the masters asked us for 700 € for a small renovation that we had to do to put the washing machine in the kitchen due to lack of space in the second house we lived in, after long research, we found another master, and we jumped with joy because we had a small job done for 400 €. We flew 🙂 I can't imagine the maintenance costs of this castle :)

The interesting part is this: Even after the French Revolution, this castle was not transferred to the state and always remained private property. Yes nowadays Vaux le Vicomte Castle is private property! This happens, this happens, that happens, and finally the castle was built in 1875 by a sugar cane merchant and art collector. Alfred Sommier It was purchased by and then passed on to his heirs until today. Here's a Patrice de Vogüé, the owner of the castle, opened it as a museum in 1968.. Now his sons are in the administrative management Ascanio, Jean-Charles ve Alexandre de Vogüé There is… When you see the photographs and personal belongings of the current owners of the castle in the blue hall you see in the photo above, you understand better that this is a personal property, not a state-owned museum.
Nowadays, people are afraid of other people just because they have "villas" or live in "residences". rich They think they are, but you see that some people also have castles like this :) And believe me, it is obvious that this is not the only house they will have a roof over their heads... No matter, they are rich but they are definitely unhappy, right? 🙂

Anyway, let's continue our trip, the living space of the castle is already finished. When we turn around and go downstairs again, this time we enter the large oval hall we saw at first. It looked different to me in the summer when the windows were open, but once Noel While we were visiting this castle, there was a giant pine tree here, it was bright and beautiful... So beautiful, so beautiful So a castle...
We look out from this living room and realize that we will soon emerge into the vast garden in front of us. I said the living area of the castle is finished, but we still have a lot to see, so keep walking. Oh I forgot to say, The watchtower on the upper floor of the oval hall is open to visitors.. For this, you may have to pay extra when visiting the upper floor: When we first visited this castle, there was no such thing, we went there with peace of mind, but the next time we went, we had to pay extra. Therefore, do not forget to check the latest status on the website. I think - if necessary - you'd better spend some money and climb up to this watchtower at the top; The all-around, 360-degree view from above is magnificent.

Anyway, let's continue our tour on the ground floor: The oval hall leads to the library section. Again, walls full of books, embroidered desks, reading chairs and much more. When visiting such places, one feels like reading more. Just imagine, especially in those times... Walls full of books and you in a quiet, calm, peaceful environment... What could a person do without reading...
Confused as to whether to look at the floors, walls, furniture or the endless garden seen from the window, we start moving on the left side of the entrance floor of the castle and continue on our way.

Every part of these castles is beautiful, I don't even mind the eye-tiring gilding, but the bedrooms really make me happy... My bed should be by the window, I should be able to see the bright sky, if I have such a choice in life...
However, in ancient times, beds were always designed as a cabin. Apparently people don't like light; However, I should fall asleep watching the moonrise at night, and wake up in the morning with the sun hitting my face. If I had the power to have such a castle built, I would definitely sleep under a glass dome... What is the need for a castle? My house in Istanbul was exactly like this; that is, in terms of moon and sunrise :)

One of the most interesting parts of Vaux le Vicomte Castle is toilet and bathroom The part is in my opinion. Is there any French concept of cleanliness Various rumors about. Cleanliness and hygiene must have been taken seriously in this castle, as they had toilets, bidets and everything else.
I don't know whether it was used only by the owners of the castle or where and how others met their needs... After all, if I remember correctly, I saw the private toilet section for the first time in France, as an architectural culture, in this castle.

Our last stop as we finish this floor is the dining hall. It seemed a bit bland on my last visit, because my previous visit Noel It was the eve of the festival and there was a magnificent decoration here. The dinner table was arranged with a real Christmas evening scene.
In fact, in the cinemascope image projected between the curtain opened at the back, accompanied by wonderful music, noblemen They were bowing down to you in turn, accompanied by wonderful dance music, asil you thought. What does noble mean, where does nobility come from? Who is the first noble in the lineage of a noble descendant?

If you think that you will go to the garden after completing the ground floor, you are wrong. Strongly I suggest you go downstairs. On the lower floor, there are service areas and a few surprises for the employees who ensure that the palace lives in all its splendor.
The most important surprise, Alexandre DumasReferring to the novel by “Man in the Iron Mask“… Although I thought it was unknown who the man in the iron mask was a character inspired by in French history, it is mentioned here that the man in the iron mask is Nicolas Fouquet. I leave this issue to literary scholars and historians.

As we continue our tour of the lower floor of the castle kitchen We reach the section. Huge ovens, stoves, and kitchen equipment give an idea of how meals are prepared on the upper floors. Copper pots on the walls E. Dehillerin It helps us understand why kitchen supply stores such as are still so important today.
There is also something I noticed while visiting these castles. For example, the kitchen whose photo you see below. At that time, "maids and servants" were eating in this kitchen. It is also frequently encountered in period films: Even the officials who were in the service of the nobles at that time were dressed so stylishly and were always in such a stylish environment. I think of today's hotels, for example; while the splendor continues above, they live in extremely soulless conditions below. I don't know, maybe the dining tables you see below were perceived as very bland compared to the magnificence of the castles at that time. However, it is even more spectacular than the tables of many rich people today. Please imagine that life continues here. No matter what, life is always one Above Below state.

The kitchen sections are spread over a fairly large area. Of course, there is also the issue of wines and cellars, which are indispensable for French cuisine. The cellar of the Castle of Vaux le Vicomte It is very impressive even with its visible part.
It seems that the subject of wine, which has had an important place in human history for centuries, even millennia, needs to be studied better. Especially when it comes to such areas, one wants to be more knowledgeable.

I don't know if you remember, when I was a kid, there was a British TV series called "Those Above, Those Below". Up stairs noble The events taking place around a family and the parallel world of the lives of the family's servants downstairs were handled with various intersections; Most of the time, contrasts and sometimes similarities were explained. I always remember that TV series when I visit such places.
A special exhibition area was created on the lower floor where the garden landscape is explained, and after visiting there, the route takes us to the backyard. If I say garden, do not think of the backyard of your house, it is a vast park, surrounded by forest... There is a small cafe on the right, a modest place with an umbrella. You can also find light snacks here. There is a wonderful restaurant right next door and it is very stylish.

One of the most entertaining parts of Vaux le Vicomte Castle is its garden. traveling by electric car. On my first visit, I walked around the garden, on my second and third visits, I only visited the inside of the castle because it was very cold, but this was my last visit. electric car We rented it and had a lot of fun.
Of course, there is a fee to rent an electric car, but believe me, it is worth it. They charge a deposit at the beginning, and when you return the car, they refund that amount. Also, funny, they asked for a driver's license to rent a car, but my license was left in the car, so I rented the car by showing my ID, keep in mind.

You take the castle on your back and start wandering around the garden at full speed, and you take a very exciting, childish pleasure in driving down the winding road on the left to get to the place where the big pond is.
First, go around the left side of the pond, then reach the one in the middle. Hercules I recommend you climb up to the statue. If you came with an electric car, you are lucky, we came all the way here on foot during our first visit :)

This area, where the Hercules statue is located, is where picnics are allowed. If you accidentally have picnic supplies with you, you can find them here. Having a picnic while watching the castle It might be nice. Then you go down the other side of the hill and complete your tour around the pond. Driving through the water at the other end of the pond is very fun... Then you reach the winding road again, return to the upper garden and return your car.
After this, if you wish, you can explore the garden on foot; You can get lost and lose yourself in the side gardens that are not accessible by car, and pray to the famous garden landscaper André Le Nôtre :) The man has gone beyond this; It seems like it's a bit of an exaggeration... Of the 500 hectares of land belonging to the castle, 33 hectares were designed by André Le Nôtre.; It's a mind-boggling situation.

This castle deserves at least two hours, but as I said, I think Half a day can be spent at Vaux le Vicomte Castle, especially if you want to have a picnic or something, you can spend almost a full day. There is even a festival held on Saturday evenings in the summer, where the garden of the castle is decorated with candles and tickets are sold separately. special nights being edited. I attended this event in May 2018. It really is a magical atmosphere, but I have to admit, although I wanted to go here, it wasn't that striking to me since it was my fifth visit here. The fireworks display was not that impressive, but I'm sure it will be fascinating for those who come for the first time.
If you manage to visit this place in half a day, you can visit the nearby Fontainebleau CastleI recommend you also go to . However, I must say from the beginning that visiting two castles in one day will be very tiring. If you can afford it painters village BarbizonYou should see , even if just for an hour. Especially A Week in Paris If you are going to visit, I'm not sure if Vaux-le-Vicomte Castle can be included in the list, but 15 Days in Paris If you are going to visit Paris, you should definitely see this place... Especially if you like visiting castles and can afford to get away from Paris a little, it will take you a week. Loire Valley Castles Tour It is also possible to do it, but that is a whole different world...
Pleasant trips, pleasant discoveries.
Web address: vaux-le-vicomte.com/en/
Address: 77950 Maincy
Other Castles in and Around Paris:
- Louvre Museum – Musée du Louvre
- Palace of Versailles – Château de Versailles
- Vincennes Castle – Château de Vincennes
- Saint Germain Castle – National Archaeological Museum
- Fontainebleau Castle – Château de Fontainebleau
- Chantilly Castle – Château de Chantilly
- Pierrefonds Castle – Château de Pierrefonds
- Compiègne Castle – Château de Compiègne
- La Roche Guyon Castle – Château de la Roche-Guyon
- Castle of Monte Cristo – Château de Monte-Cristo
- Malmaison Castle – Château de Malmaison
- Maisons Laffitte Castle – Château de Maisons-Laffitte
For those who like to visit castles:
4 Comments
Hello Mr. Ahmet! We are coming to Paris with my wife between 1-10 October. We benefit from your information in our trip planning. Thank you very much for this valuable information, have a nice day.
Hello Mr. Ulvi, thank you very much for reading my articles and supporting me with your comments. We hope you have wonderful days in Paris; greetings, love…
Thank you. Thanks to you, we are as far as we can go.
Thank you so much.