Day Trip To Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte

A Lovely Day Trip To Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte

On our Tauck river cruise, on the day we we sailed out of Paris we headed off for a day trip to Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte. We enjoyed Afternoon tea with the current owner of the chateau before we toured the inside of the chateau decorated for the holiday season. After we saw the inside, we went outside for a stunning light show projected on the chateau. We enjoyed a magical day and night at the Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte. This was a real treat on this visit to Paris.

A Little About The Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte

The Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte was built by Nicolas Fouquet, the royal financial superintendent then imprisoned by the jealousy of King Louis XIV. The architecture of this chateau inspired the design of many European properties. King Louis XIV actually used the same architect, interior designer and gardens creator to build the Palace of Versailles using most of the key design concepts. He removed much of the interior of the Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte for Versailles too.

In 1875 the chateau was purchased at auction and finally the restoration of the property began by Alfred Sommier. The Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte remains in the hands of the Vogue family. Today the property is managed by the 3 sons – Jean-Charles, Alexandre and Ascanio de Vogüé.  

Opening the property to the public for visits in 1968 helped recoup the extensive operating costs for the property. As a private property, the French government does not the support operating costs. Operating costs are covered by entrance fees, private events and movie revenues.

Getting To The Chateau

On our Tauck Seine river cruise, we sailed out of Paris and we docked in Courbevoie. Just as we headed out, the rain started and soon turned to wet snow.

The Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte was located outside of Paris.  From Courbevoie we drove by bus about 90 minutes to the Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte. While we were off the ship, our boat moved to Poissy.  When we finished at the chateau, we had another 90 minute hour drive to get to the ship’s new dock location.

Our bus parked and we entered the chateau through the group entrance. Wandering through the stables we saw a series of buggies on display that showed transportation in another era.

Our first views provided a historic setting for our day trip to Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte.

Afternoon Tea With The Chateau Owner

After the stables we met Count Jean-Charles de Vogüé.  Jean-Charles entertained us with a little bit of the history of the chateau and more about the current operations. We got a better sense of the enormous scale of the property and what it took for upkeep. He spoke about the challenges of keeping the property viable over the next 20 years given the changes in society and technology.

During the talk, we enjoyed a tasty Afternoon Tea. We always loved Afternoon Tea treats when we travelled. We got tea or coffee to drink. A selection of sandwiches, sweet treats and tangerines were on the centre tray.

We had a tasty treat to begin our day trip to Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte.

Touring The Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte In The Holiday Season

As we walked up to the chateau, the snow created a magical scene and we got our first view of the front facade over the moat around the chateau. Our ticket was a timed entry.

While the chateau has over 100 rooms, only a portion of the chateau was open to the public. Different events are held at the chateau over the year but in the Christmas holiday season the chateau was fully decorated for the season. And each year there was a special theme for the holiday decor. The year we visited the theme was “Dreams”. As soon as we entered the first room, we were enthralled in the atmosphere created in the Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte.

We moved from room to room and admired each display. Many of the rooms had animated characters. The polar bears stood on two legs and pawed the air before they crouched down and nuzzled the small children in front of the displays. The penguin family was charming. And different animals popped up in scenes.

The Grand Salon was always a highlight. A massive tree dominated the centre of the room decorated as a magical underwater scene. Swimming fish projected on the ceiling created the illusion we walked on the ocean floor.

Every room captured another dream scene. It was a fun and exhilarating wander on our day trip to Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte.

Behind The Holiday Magic

The holiday theme dominated each room we visited. But the holiday decorations were set in lovely rooms.  While it was often hard to clearly see the original rooms, we often stopped to look beyond the magical set created for the holidays.

The ceilings often drew our eyes up and we admired the detail. Each room was labelled and decorated for its purpose. The wood burning fireplaces were all lit and added atmosphere.

After we wandered on the main level we descended the stairs to the kitchen. We saw the wine cellar through a wooden barricade. Much of the original kitchen concept was re-recreated. Inside the kitchen we found several chocolate sculptures including a life sized camel! Sitting on the table was the movie character Ratatouille.

Throughout the chateau we stopped at numerous signs that provided details or history in French and English. Towards the end we sat and watched a video projected on a model of the Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte. The video walked us through the design concepts for the house and gardens. While I missed most of the French dialogue, the key design points were provided in English too.

It would be interesting to take a day trip to Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte outside of the holiday season to enjoy more of the original facets of the building. And sadly our short visit did not provide us with the time or daylight to explore the magnificent gardens.

Night Light Show On The Chateau

Our tour around the inside of the chateau finished just before night fell. We made our way along the snowy paths towards the back of the building and set up for the night light show. Our Tauck tour leaders provided us with small flashlights that helped us walk in the dark.

The lights on the back of the chateau all went out as the bells chimed 6pm to start the show. For 10 minutes we were rewarded with a delightful series of shows presented on the back of the building. Characters showed up in the windows. Water scenes enveloped the chateau. A giant walked through the building. And a multi-coloured kaleidoscope decorated the entire facade. 

As we walked back to the front of the chateau and our bus, we stopped and admired the night view of the Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte. We were so happy we visited late in the day for the contrasting view of day and night on our day trip to Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte.

A Memorable Day Trip To Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte

On our Tauck Seine river cruise, we enjoyed a totally memorable day trip to Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte. As we walked through the inside of the chateau, we were delighted by the holiday “Dream” theme displayed in each room. But we often stopped to admire the beauty of the chateau under the decorations. After dark, the night light show was a colourful and fun way to end our day.

We visited the Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomteon on our trip to Paris during the holiday season. But we knew we would return one day for another visit. We wanted to see more of the inside of the chateau without a holiday dressing. And we wanted to explore the stunning gardens around the chateau. It would be interesting to immerse ourselves in a tour of the Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte before a visit to Versailles to see how it was copied.

Did you do a day trip to Chateau De Vaux Le Vicomte? Were you enthralled with the beauty?

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