Paris Encore 2022 Vaux-Le-Vicomte and the King

Our plan today is to take the train out to Melun, and hire a cab to take us to Vaux-Le-Vicomte Château. I had read that it was a beautiful home and gardens, built in the 1700s (pre-Revolution) by Nicolas Fouquet, France’s finance minister under King Louis XIV. Fouquet hired three masters to collaborate on it: Louis LeVau for the design of the chateau, Charles LeBrun for the art inside it, and André LeNotre for the gardens surrounding it. Wait ‘til you hear what happened next. When the chateau was nearing completion, Fouquet invited King Louis out to see his masterpiece. Louis visited a few times, and was quite impressed that one man, other than himself, could create such magnificence; that one man, other than himself, could afford it. So Louis had Fouquet arrested, for possibly (probably) embezzling some funds from France’s coffers. Louis then hired the talented trio of designers to work their magic on Versailles, a bigger and costlier, but not necessarily more splendid, palace. He also took furnishings, tapestries, artwork and even orange trees from the chateau, for his own use.

Though Louis had hoped the court would sentence Fouquet to death, sympathetic judges sentenced him to banishment instead. Louis changed the sentence to life imprisonment, and Fouquet spent the rest of his life (16 years) in the fortress at Pignerol, in the Alps, in what is now Italy. Though conditions were harsh, lest we feel too sympathetic, Fouquet had two rooms, and two valets at his disposal.

Fouquet never saw his home again. His wife was allowed to write to him once, after several years, and allowed to see him only once in 16 years, shortly before he died. The chateau passed from hand-to-hand over the years, and survived the revolution by a quick-thinking owner who offered all of the valuable artwork and furniture to the revolutionary government, but only after it was all inventoried. The task was so overwhelming, and the chateau considered to have too much value to destroy, so it was essentially left alone during that time. It’s been owned by the same family since 1875, when Alfred Sommier purchased it at auction, after it had been abandoned for 50 years. Sommier enthusiastically proceeded to restore the chateau to its former glory, at great expense. His descendants operate it today. 

I guess the lesson here is obvious. Don’t outshine the Sun King!

Back to our visit. The train to Melun, oddly pronounced moo-len, left from Gard du Lyon. Tickets were only 5 euros each way, for each of us, and there were options for an express train that took 30 minutes, or the regular milk-run train that took 60 minutes. We took the slower train out, but the scenery wasn’t too spectacular. We arrived around lunch time and proceeded to a café near the station in Melun for lunch. Afterward we walked back to the station taxi stand and hired a driver to take us to the chateau. The cost was a bit over 20 euros each way, and the ride about 15 minutes, and we were told someone at the chateau would call a cab for us when we were ready to leave.

The chateau is situated within a gigantic forest, and the road leading into it is lined with plane trees.

The property is laid out very symmetrically, and closest to the entrance there was a carriage museum and workshop in what had been the stables.

The last photo above shows the special wagon constructed to convey the orange trees.

The inside of the chateau was elaborately decorated.

If any of you ever see this dish pattern at a thrift store, give me a jingle!

Looking out a window at the manicured garden. The animals are statues.

Downstairs were the kitchens, storerooms and wine cellar. There were actors in period costumes talking about what they were preparing for dinner, and what the placement of dishes on the table should be.

This building housed the stables and tack rooms, but from the chateau side all you see is beautiful flowers, arches and decorative brickwork. 

It was a truly beautiful chateau and gardens. Not crowded, like Versailles usually is. It’s possible to rent period costumes here, and we saw a group of children enjoying their finery as they toured the chateau. They host special dinners here too, lit by hundreds of candles, and the decorations at Christmas are said to be spectacular. We were glad we made the trek out to see it.

A nice young woman at the gift shop called a cab for us, and minutes later we were transported back to reality. We took the fast train back into Paris. 

Later that evening we consoled ourselves with the view of our neighborhood statue-topped columns, as seen from our window, up near the servants quarters on Rue de Picpus.