Strangely, I had never been to the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, and by a twist of fate, as only life can provide, I visited it twice in 2017. The first time was during the day for a guided tour of the castle’s interior, followed by a self-guided stroll through the gardens. A second time in July to discover the summer candlelight evenings at the site. In this article, I will present the castle to you, as well as the different types of tours and events, such as the candlelight evening, which it offers throughout the year.
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Table of Contents
The History of the Château
First of all, the history of this place is very significant, as this castle ultimately served as the model for the creation of the Palace of Versailles. Indeed, this achievement is the work of the 3Ls as they were called at the time: Le Nôtre for the French formal gardens, Le Brun for the painted decorations, and Le Vau for the architecture. And it is obviously these 3 artists that we also find at the time of the construction of the Palace of Versailles. The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte was therefore built by and for Nicolas Fouquet, prosecutor general of the Parliament of Paris and superintendent of finances in the 17th century.
The castle is also famous for the party given on August 17, 1661, in honor of the young King Louis XIV. Subsequently, in September 1661, Louis XIV had Nicolas Fouquet arrested for embezzlement by d’Artagnan, and Colbert organized his trial. In the end, Fouquet was sentenced to life imprisonment and died in 1680 in the fortress of Pignerol. It was Alfred Sommeil, ancestor of the current owners and an art lover, who acquired the property at an auction in 1875. The latter was opened to the public in 1968 thanks to the efforts of Patrice and Cristina de Vogüé. Which allows us today to be able to visit this superb estate.
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Temporary Exhibitions
The castle regularly organizes temporary exhibitions on very varied themes. In 2017, I was able to discover the exhibition “Vaux Le Vicomte goes to the movies,” which was very interesting.
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The candlelight evenings at the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte
For the candlelight evenings that take place every summer between the month of May and the month of October, 2000 candles are set up every Saturday night in the magnificent garden created by André Le Nôtre and in the castle’s state apartments.
It gives a whole other aspect to the place with a little magical touch on top… On our side, we will also remember this evening for a long time because we got caught in a big thunderstorm right on our heads, while we were trying precisely to take beautiful photos of the place (so I advise you to check the weather well before choosing your evening!). As a little bonus, the evening ends with a firework display with music which is launched every Saturday around 11 PM.
Practical information: if you don’t have a car, it is perfectly possible to come to the candlelight evenings by public transport. There is a shuttle system from the Verneuil l’Etang train station, specifically for the Saturday night events.
Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte
77950 MaincyTour prices: €18.50 / €13 for children from 6 to 17 years old
Candlelight evenings take place on Saturday nights between May and October
Candlelight evening prices: adult €19.50 / reduced €17.50 / €16 for children
Photo credits: Mademoiselle Bon Plan and Nicolas Diolez Photos are not royalty-free, photographer authorization is mandatory before any use
