Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte

Nicolas Fouquet, superintendent of finances, brought together the architect Le Vau, the painter Le Brun and the garden designer Le Notre and gave them a free hand, producing between 1656 and 1661 the first complete statement of the French classical style. He held a party for Louis XIV in August 1661 with fireworks, a Moliere play and a Vatel supper; three weeks later the king had him arrested for embezzlement, and he died in prison. Louis then engaged the same three men to build Versailles on a far larger scale. The garden's perspective is designed to be read from the steps, with elements revealing themselves only as you walk.

History

Nicolas Fouquet bought the estate in 1641, aged 26, and after becoming Louis XIV's Superintendent of Finances in 1656 he commissioned the architect Louis Le Vau, the painter Charles Le Brun and the garden designer André Le Nôtre, who worked together here on a large scale for the first time; three villages were bought and demolished for the grounds, and the château was built between 1658 and 1661, said to employ 18,000 workers. On 17 August 1661 Fouquet gave a celebrated fête for the king, with the first performance of Molière's Les Fâcheux, a supper by François Vatel and fireworks; soon afterwards, persuaded by Colbert that his minister's splendour came from public funds, the king had him arrested by d'Artagnan, and Fouquet was imprisoned for life. The king took 120 tapestries, the statues and the orange trees, and set the same three artists to work on Versailles; Madame Fouquet recovered the estate ten years later and sold it in 1705 to Marshal Villars, whose son sold it in 1764 to the Duke of Praslin (Wikipedia, Vaux-le-Vicomte).

What you'll find

• The Le Notre garden - a perspective composed to unfold as you walk it.
• The Le Brun interiors - painted ceilings and the oval salon.
• The moat and dome - the chateau standing on its own island platform.
• The candlelight evenings - two thousand candles lit through the house and garden.

When to go

April to October; candlelight evenings run on Saturdays in season and are the best time to see it. Christmas decoration runs in December. The chateau is privately owned and closes in winter.

Things to know

Getting there without a car means train plus shuttle, and the shuttle runs on limited days. Candlelight evenings sell out. The estate is privately run and ticketing is separate from Paris museum passes.

Nearby

Fontainebleau lies south; Melun is west.

Key facts