Vaux Le Vicomte castle is certainly not as famous as Versailles…however it deserves a visit as much as Versailles does.  This is one of the most magnificent chateaus in France.

Located about 40 miles away from Paris (on your way to Burgundy), the whole estate reaches nearly 500 hectares. It was built by Nicolas Fouquet, Superintendent of Finances under young King Louis 14th.

A 17th century masterpiece, Vaux le Vicomte was the backdrop to many major historical events and witnessed the tragic eviction of its creator, Nicolas Fouquet, who was imprisoned following an extraordinary trial about which the writer Voltaire said: “On 17 August at 6 in the evening, Fouquet was King of France; at 2 in the morning, he was nobody” . Upon Louis 14th request, Fouquet was arrested in Nantes by D’Artagnan, captain of the Musketeers.

 

Vaux le Vicomte gardens also deserve a long stroll. To design the gardens, Fouquet called upon André le Nôtre who was the pioneer of French garden art. The perfect harmony between garden and architecture results from the collaboration of a trio : Le Nôtre the landscape gardener, Le Vau the architect and Le Brun the painter-decorator.

France Just For You

Experts in self-drive tours in France

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Brigitte
We want to thank you and Guillaume for a wonderful itinerary and such amazing personalized attention. Every touch was added with so much special care and your willingness to answer all of my questions in such detail ahead of time was truly amazing. The guidebook and ‘care package’ you sent was so exciting and really helped us a lot with every day …
Dan
I communicated directly with Emilie who is very serious about their business of providing self guided tours. She prepared a proposal that matched what I had requested. Payment arrangements were easy. We really got to visit with local people. We rarely saw a tour bus. France - Just For You arranged visits with guides (wine tasting day in St. Emilion …
Maroun
I cannot say enough good things about Emilie and "France Just for You". We spent 15 days in France in June to celebrate our special anniversary and it was more than perfect. I found this superlative agency while browsing online, looking for a custom made trip to France that does not involve hopping on a tour bus with a large group of people, being …
Kristina
I can't say enough good things about Emilie and France Just For You! From start to finish, Emilie was responsive, listened to our requests (and changes) and planned a wonderful trip for our 20th Anniversary. Her attention to detail did not go unnoticed and everything was perfect. We will definitely use them again our our next adventure.
Bip
My wife and I took a road trip in the Normandy, Loire Valley and Burgundy regions of France last May. The road trip was 17 days long. The trip was planned by Emilie, the owner of "France Just For You". Emilie sent us a 400+ page personalized guide book before we set off to France. She booked our rental car, all the B&B's and 3 guided tours. We got …
Carol & Don
For our journey in the Loire Valley, we could not have hoped for more gracious, firendly and hospitable hosts. They made us feel like long time friends. It has been wonderful sharing this time with this French family and we hope we may meet again. The guidebook was totally professional and indispensable ! Aurevoir et merci beaucoup

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