Return to Vaux le Vicomte

When I was a child my parents drove often to a small town south of Paris to visit my cousins. It is about 17 miles from the outskirts of Paris but really about 40 miles (65 kms) from the center of Paris where we lived. Even though it is close to the capital it is amidst sugar beets and wheat fields and feels like one must be miles away. It was great fun for me to play with my cousin who lived with her grandparents (my grandmother and her grandfather were brothers and sisters. ) When we were about 16 years old her grandparents bought her a “velo Solex” which is a bicycle with a small motor on the front wheel. This is what I found on their UK site: “The Solex is a powered bycicle, not a moped. It was invented in 1946 in France, as a low cost, reliable transport for a decimated country. It is a classic design which, since its invention has sold over 8 million, mainly in Europe and Scandinavia. They have a tremendous reputation for being fun, reliable and economic. “ Below is a picture of a man riding a velo Solex in Paris, circa the mid 50s by the looks of the cars.



The priest where my cousin lived was upgrading from a velo Solex to a Mobylette to visit his flock. My father bought his Solex for me so I could ride with my cousin whenever I visited her. We had so much fun on our Solex which got about 100 miles to the gallon – we would often ride to Maincy where the castle of Vaux le Vicomte is located. Maincy is a little town about 6.5 miles away (11 kms) which we would reach by riding over a long road bordered with tall Plane trees. In those days the interior of the castle could not be visited but the alleys and the woods around it could.

Picture of some of the road and gardens below -


We rode there many times but I never took any picture of the castle. The castle was so familiar to us but we never knew its history – we just knew that it was owned by a sugar magnate. My cousin married at 18 years of age and a few years later I left for my visit to the United States. Our velo Solex were sold.


Below is the castle of Vaux le Vicomte and its gardens viewed from the sky (courtesy of the castle.)

Click on the picture to enlarge it

When my mother moved into a nursing home in the early 2000s, she selected one close to my cousin’s new hometown (close to the town where my cousin grew up.) When I visited my mum my cousin drove me around and we went to the castle of Vaux le Vicomte of course. That week was called “Journée du Patrimoine” and entrance to the castle was free. France’s national heritage week occurs usually the 3rd week of September and millions of visitors are allowed free access in local heritage sites, like castles, etc. This is when, after so many years, I was able to visit the interior of the castle, learn its history, take pictures and buy some postcards. This year again, when we went to France at the end of last October, we stayed with my cousin and we went to Vaux le Vicomte so my husband could visit it too, but unfortunately it was a Wednesday when the castle is closed to visitors.

Here is the picture of what we found – the gates closed.


The history of the castle and its owners is a long one, but I’ll try to be short (if I can…) The construction of the castle began in 1658 and ended in 1661. It is the most elaborate house built in the mid 17th century in France. It was built for Nicolas Fouquet (1615-1680) who was Louis XIV’s Minister of Finance. Fouquet came from a rich family, had a keen intelligence, loved the arts, letters, pictures, tapestries, flowers and was a patron of many artists, poets, authors, etc. Among them were La Fontaine and Molière. Fouquet invested his immense fortune in the building of this palatial castle. He selected 3 great artists: architect Louis Le Vau, painter Charles Le Brun and landscape gardener André Le Notre. Le Notre cleared 100+ acres from the wild woods of the estate to create an innovative garden with a sweeping view of more than a mile long (3 kms.) He used a geometric plan containing vast vistas, fountains, statues, orderly boxes of shrubberies, lawns and fountains. This was the birth of the elegant French landscape gardening style which would become the “jardin à la française” used in many European castles, grand houses and other elegant estates around the world. The Swan House in Atlanta has a garden à la française.

Postcards and photos provided by the castle and friends of the castle

Painter Charles Le Brun decorated the castle in a lavish and dazzling style. The interior rooms were furnished with elegant furniture, paintings, tapestries and statues. Later on he was to be employed by the King of France and was the originator of the Louis XIV style.

Postcards and photos provided by the castle and friends of the castle

Unfortunately Nicolas Fouquet was not to live in his beautiful castle for long. He was extremely successful with a brilliant mind and a generous spirit. He was very ambitious and loved refinement and luxury. This created extreme jealousy among the advisors of King Louis XIV (1638-1715) who plotted against Fouquet hoping to bring his downfall. King Louis was only 23 at the time and easily influenced. He was persuaded that Fouquet was embezzling funds from the royal coffers (which was not true) and decided to imprison him. First, though, he accepted an invitation to visit Fouquet’s castle at Vaux le Vicomte. Fouquet organized an extremely elaborate and magnificent party in honor of the king on 17 August 1661. All the guests praised Fouquet for the beauty of his castle, the décor, the music and they applauded greatly the final fireworks. This displeased King Louis, the “Sun King”, greatly because he felt “upstaged.” On 10 September 1661, 3 weeks after the party, the captain of the King’s Musketeers, d’Artagnan, arrested Fouquet on the orders of Louis XIV.

The “Mousquetaires” (Musketeers) were a French infantry type soldiers equipped with a musket. They were popularized in the Alexandre Dumas’ book “The Three Musketeers.”

Pictures of the corps of Musketeers (from re-enactment at the castle)

Nicolas Fouquet was sentenced by Louis XIV to life-imprisonment in a small fortified prison where he died in 1680. His wife was exiled and Louis XIV was then able to seize, confiscate and even purchase 120 tapestries, the statues, and many other things from the castle. The Sun King then hired Fouquet’s trio of artists Le Vau, Le Brun and Le Notre to come to Versailles and built a palace which would be even grander than Vaux le Vicomte. Versailles palace became one of the largest in Europe. On the postcards of Vaux le Vicomte is printed: “Le Chateau qui inspira Versailles” (the castle which inspired Versailles.)

Below is a portrait of Louis XIV painted by Charles Le Brun in 1666, the castle of Vaux le Vicomte on top and the Palace of Versailles in the bottom.


Mrs. Fouquet was exiled but recovered Vaux le Vicomte 10 years later. She sold it in 1705 to some noble family who kept it until it became run down. Mr. Alfred Sommier, a sugar magnate, was the winning bidder when the castle was sold at public auction in 1875. By 1908 he had it totally restored. The castle is now owned by his direct descendants, the glamorous Count and Countess de Vogüé, who continue the work to preserve Vaux le Vicomte. It is the most important private property listed on the Historical Monument List of France. When we stopped by last month you could see that the right side of the building was being restored. I took the pictures below.

Click on any picture to enlarge it

The estate is opened from March to November. Electric club cars can be rented to further explore the garden. Special events take place as, for instance, the “Day of the Great Century” where visitors can come wearing costumes from the 17th Century, as in the pictures below.


The castle of Vaux le Vicomte is available for hire by private parties like corporations or celebrities. Non famous people (as my cousin’s nephew) can have their wedding pictures taken there. Well-known people like French basketball player Tony Parker had his wedding ceremony there in July 2007. He married a Mexican-American fashion model named Eva Longoria, who I believe also does some acting on soap operas in the US. (their photo courtesy of French newspaper Le Figaro.)


Vaux le Vicomte celebrates Christmas and is opened on three week-ends during the Holiday Season. The interior and the garden are decorated and illuminated.


Then it is closed during the winter months and can be observed through the gate only.


Many years ago, when my cousin and I rode to Vaux le Vicomte on our Solex bikes, we rarely saw anyone there. We would not have imagined that years in the future the castle would be open to visitors and we would come back and discover its interior – its exterior is part of our childhood. It will always stay in our memory like a cherished sepia photograph.