Our Private tour of Vaux Le Vicomte “the Highlights” is designed for you if you already came to Versailles, if you like the French history and if you wish to discover a sheer of beauty and intimacy French Chateau in a peaceful environment without any crowds as we can get at Versailles. Are you in? Then, let’s meet our guide & his driver and let’s share our tales and stories with you!
Opening Days
6/7 (except Monday)
Meeting-Point
Your hotel or apartment
Duration
5Hrs (half day)
9Hrs (full day)
Access
Skip the Line
Transport
Executive car
Type of tour
Private, up to 17 people
Because your family worth it, choose the best. Choose a 5 stars Vaux Le Vicomte tour.
Because we know that –for your safety & confort– driving a car and telling an interesting story during a guided tour requires different specific skills, we propose you to be guided by a specific licensed guide and driven by a specific Chauffeur. That way, your guide will be really dedicated to you. Like a friend, your Vaux Le Vicomte expert guide will have more time to share with you and more interesting anecdotes & stories to tell you. This tour of Vaux Le Vicomte is private.
To begin with, your tour guide and his/her driver will pick you up at your hotel for your very special journey to the marvelous chateau de Vaux le Vicomte. During the trip to Vaux le Vicomte, your guide will introduce himself and he will propose you a short presentation of the day that you will spend in her/him hands.
One of the advantages of this guided tour is to avoid the crowd and to have the privilege to enjoy the original pastoral ambiance of the Chateau as it was in the past. Nestled in a huge forest, without any urban sprawl, you will appreciate Vaux le Vicomte castle –with our relaxing tour guide– for its intimacy.
During this tour, you will learn about the incredile life of Nicolas Fouquet, for whom the castle was built and who served as financial Minister of the King Louis XIV during the 17th century. You will learn about him from his birth in Paris until he was sentenced to life imprisonment by the King because he felt overshadowed by his Financial Minister.
Nicolas Fouquet built this castle during the 17th century (1658 to 1661). He appealed to the best artists of the time to build his castle: architect, painters, landscape architect… If you already visited the Palace of Versailles, you will realize that this chateau was the architectural inspiration for Versailles and set the standard for European palaces to come. It may explain why we really love this unique Chateau & think that it is worth a visit.
Once arrived in the small village of Maincy located about located 35 miles southeast of Paris, you will discover The chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte, surrounded by the forest of the French countryside. Your tour guide will take you to the main door of the castle in order to visit inside the castle. You will realize that this lovely castle is very well furnished.
The castle tour is organized on four levels, very well furnished and decorated as if Nicolas Fouquet and his family had recently left. The tour consists in visiting the private apartments of Nicolas Fouquet in the 1st floor followed by the ceremonial rooms on the ground floor and the basement with the large kitchens. then, you will walk on a staircase which leads you up to the lantern, the highest point from which emerges the overview of the chateau and its surrounding countryside.
The Carriage Museum at Vaux le Vicomte exhibits a collection, rare in Europe, of horse-drawn carriages and equipment. You will have the privilege to visit this exhibition before leaving this magical place.
The history of horse-drawn carriages through the ages is presented in a vibrant setting, imbued with elegance and refinement.
The gardens located south of the castle are remarkable for their size and style. Trees pruned, ponds, statues and tidy walkways make it a French garden. The gardens of Vaux le Vicomte was designed by one of the most famous “paysagiste” that France have known: André Lenôtre. The list of gardens designed by Lenôtre is long…And you may sometimes walk in Paris in a lovely garden or park that was built by this man. (think about the Tuilerie gardens, the Luxembourg gardens, Versailles gardens, Saint Cloud gardens…). So Let’s breath the fresh air of the countryside & enjoy a nice stroll through its quaint and lovely French gardens in a peaceful atmosphere.
Le Nôtre’s garden, stretches nearly a mile and a half with a balanced composition of water basins and canals contained in stone curbs, fountains, gravel walks, and patterned parterres that remains coherent.
The site was naturally well-watered, with two small rivers that met in the park. the canalized bed of one forms the Grand Canal, which leads to a square basin.
Le Nôtre created a magnificent scene to be viewed from the castle, using the laws of perspective. Le Nôtre used the natural terrain to his advantage. He placed the canal at the lowest part of the complex, thus hiding it from the main perspectival point of view. Past the canal, the garden ascends a large open lawn and ends with the Hercules column added in the 19th century.
In you choose the full day tour, we will have lunch in a Michelin starred restaurant not far from Vaux le Vicomte. It is one of the best of the area (if not the best) . (Menu from 35€ to 48€ is not included in the price of the tour)
After lunch, you will have the choice to visit a typical medieval village: Moret sur Loing or to visit a medieval fortress: Blandy les tours.
Blandy les Tours
From the crenels and battlements to the kitchen and medieval toilets, explore this typical fortress of the hundred years war time. Imagine how the knights and fair ladies dwelt inside those fierce towers and ascend to the top of the famous dungeon. This Chateau has also become a cultural exhibition center and a modern art sanctuary and offers a dynamic musical program with concerts and families events.
To finish, your guide & his driver will take you back to your hotel. You will travel back to Paris by La Bastille square in Paris where Nicolas Fouquet had been jailed. This historical place was a prison fortress built there in Paris in the past. Fouquet, the Man in the iron Mask, Voltaire and Marquis de Sade have this gloomy residence in common. Your guide will share their anecdotic stories with you ! Now it is a lively place in central Paris where the modern Opera House has been built 30 years ago.
| Number of people | Total Price all included |
| 2 people | 700 € / pers |
| 3 people | 520 € / pers |
| 4 people | 400 € / pers |
| 5 people | 340 € / pers |
| 6 people | 300 € / pers |
| More than 6 people | Start the booking process to know the price or contact us |
| Number of people | Total Price (except lunch) |
| 2 people | 850 € / pers |
| 3 people | 640 € / pers |
| 4 people | 500 € / pers |
| 5 people | 410 € / pers |
| 6 people | 345 € / pers |
| More than 6 people | Start the booking process to know the price or contact us |
** Basically we do not take the responsibility to carry your luggage during the day. If you need to tidy your luggage we can arrange it with an extra but we need to know it before booking.
** children count for one participant.
** Visitors with disabilities can not access everywhere in Vaux le Vicomte. Please contact us before booking and we will customize your private tour to Vaux le Vicomte.
Electric golf cart are accessible to people with limited mobility or to people who want to save their feet. We don’t charge you for this extra. We accompany you to the golf cart’s provider and you pay directly the basic price. The price is €32 an hour. Mandatory presentation of a driving licence. You can talk about this option with your guide during the trip by car from your hotel in Paris to Vaux Le Vicomte.
As the Chateau of Vaux Le Vicomte & its gardens are huge, we suggest you wear some sneakers and comfortable clothes. Moreover, a bottle of water and some sunscreen will be welcome during the visit of the Gardens on Summer. On Winter, we advise you to wear some warm clothes for a best experience.
Next to the reinforcement of the security to enter in the Chateau, the control may take longer than usual. Our skip the line tickets enable us to avoid the long queue. However you may have to wait a bit for the checking , especially during the high season.
Elisa is an Italian licensed tour guide , always smiling and full of energy. She moved to Paris more than twenty years ago and as soon as she discovered the city, she literally felt in love with it : today she considers herself half Italian and half parisian.
After graduating in Communication in Italy, she joined the famous French luxury brand, Hermès, where she was Customer Service manager.
Always passionate about art and history, she decided to start afresh a few years ago and become a licensed tour guide, graduating from the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts). Visiting Versailles with Elisa, is traveling back in time and living an unique experience that you will never forget!
Elisa
Marc-Antoine is a French licensed tour guide and a true Parisian. Since he was a kid he has always enjoyed cycling up and down the city to discover hidden streets and architectural gems. After graduating in English, he joined the Associated Press bureau in Paris to become a journalist. He later worked as an editorial expert in PR companies.
Marc-Antoine
Yaelle was born and grew up in Paris. She is a 100% Parisian who loves her home city; its history, architecture, culture and gastronomy. She is a passionate and enthusiastic guide, who has a delightful desire to share her passion with customers from all around the world. Very personable and knowledgable, Yaelle will make you discover the bright side of Versailles in a local, funny and lively way. She will make your trip to Versailles and Paris a memorable expérience.
And always with her smile , and her sense of humor !
Yaelle
Lorenzo was born in Paris. He spent his childhood in Italy and returned to Paris in his early adolescence. He then studied French history and literature in the Sorbonne University and theater in private schools, where he discovered a passion for storytelling.
So he went back to historical studies and became a certified tour guide, dedicating himself to telling ancient and recent history of Paris using the techniques of storytelling. He is a keen history teller, joining together culture, history and art, he will take you for a trip back in time at the court of Versailles.
Lorenzo
Book one of our private experience to Versailles and get a safe & intimate guided tour with your partner/family.
Benefit from one of our gentleman drivers and his comfortable executive cars.
