Discover the château south of Paris that inspired Versailles. From 1658-1661, the castle’s construction was ordered by Nicolas Fouquet, Louis XIV’ crooked finance minister. He had managed and misappropriated the king’s funds, but had tremendous taste.
The château is lavish, refined, and dazzling to behold, but rich in hidden drama. The King had Fouquet arrested the day after a famous party that took place just after the castle’s completion in 1661: « On August 17, at six in the evening Fouquet was the King of France: at two in the morning he was nobody ».
La Fontaine (the French Aesop) wrote describing the fête. La Fontaine shortly thereafter penned his Elégie aux nymphes de Vaux.
After Fouquet was arrested and imprisoned for life, and his wife exiled, Vaux-le-Vicomte and the wife were placed under sequestration. The King seized 120 tapestries, the statues, and all of the orange trees on the property. He then sent a team of artists (Le Vau, Le Nôtre and Le Brun) to design what would be a much larger project than Vaux-le-Vicomte: VERSAILLES!!
Madame Fouquet recovered her property ten years later and retired there with her eldest son. After her husband's death in 1680, her son died too. In 1705 the dejected Grande Dame decided to put Vaux-le-Vicomte up for sale.
After a series of sales to members of the French nobility; the property is now owned by the glamorous Count and Countess de Vogüé.
This castle is a great place for kids. The kitchens and gardens are beyond comparison.
Cost is 1400 Euros for a party of 2 to 4, including round-trip private minibus transportation from your Paris hotel, an expert guide, castle and gardens tours. Meals are extra.