I had wanted to go to Vaux-le-Vicomte for years. It must have been in 2011 that I went to Paris and took a train to Chantilly and loved it, then looked online for any other chateaux near Paris, and I discovered Vaux-le-Vicomte. Of course, it had to be one of the hardest chateaux to get to without a car, and three subsequent visits to Paris had seen me unable to visit. So I decided that, since I had the camper, this was a "must do" while I was in this region of France.
I'd stayed at that campsite nearby overnight and endured the lukewarm water of the showers just so that I could be at Vaux first thing in the morning. I pulled into the carpark super early, parked in the shade and went for a little look at the chateau from behind the gates. It was just as lovely as I'd seen on TV (Monty Don visited on his tour of French gardens), and I waited impatiently for it to open. A couple of other people turned up and we waited for 10am.
The chateau is actually privately owned and the owners actually live inside, so when we were finally allowed in, I watched as they left. It must be so weird to have to leave your own house every day, but I guess that's the price you pay for allowing people in to pay for the upkeep. They need some sort of formal scheme like the National Trust in Britain to keep all the beautiful old chateaux in order, as there are so many of them in France!
Being the first person inside the grounds was great, as I managed to take closer photos of the chateau without anyone in the way! I then went to explore the "house".
I didn't get far into exploring the house before I came across a stairway to the roof, where you could pay a little extra and go up to view the gardens from up high. I definitely wanted to do this, so up I went!
Vaux-le-Vicomte was built in the mid 17th century for a man named Nicholas Fouquet. Fouquet was basically a well-off commoner who rose to fame and fortune in the French nobility through the army. He came to the notice of a cardinal in a position of power, who made him superintendent of finances. It was while he was in this position that he commissioned Vaux to be built. He hired three men who came together to see the project done: Le Vau, in charge of designing and building the chateau; Le Brun, in charge of decorating it; and Andre Le Notre, whose first major job this was and it would go on to make him a famous garden designer.
Fouquet over-extended himself with Vaux, and it came to the notice of Louis XIV, who wasn't happy with the grand displays of wealth... I mean, grand displays were the province of royalty, not some common peasant! Fouquet threw a big party at Vaux in August of 1661, and that's where everything came undone. It was supposedly one of only a handful of very grand parties throughout French history, such was the splendour, and the young king had had enough of all the showiness... Fouquet was arrested and imprisoned for life. Louis XIV also took the three creators of Vaux to work on Versailles to make the palace even more impressive than Vaux-le-Vicomte.
With Fouquet's arrest, Vaux fell mostly into disrepair until the late 19th century, when it was brought back to life. It is still owned by the same family who bought it then, and they do a bloody good job at keeping it looking grand and fabulous!
It was time to go to the gardens and have a look around!
One of the main things about Vaux-le-Vicomte that is striking is the use of water. This idea of Le Notre was then transferred to the palace of Versailles when he moved there - the idea that he could control the water and use it in the garden to his advantage (and to show power, for if the king controls nature, he controls all!). You can't really see it in my photos but there are several levels of water, one which you can't see from the chateau, which creates an element of surprise as you walk through the garden. It was quite a beautiful garden, but I couldn't stay out there too long - it was so hot and there was no shade in the main part and it was super glare-y!
I decided I would pop into the cafe on site to have lunch before I left. Honestly, best cafe ever! I've been to National Trust ones and they are nice, but this was gourmet - not that I would expect anything less from the French! I bought a big salad, one of those little bottles of wine and a delicious lemon meringue tart and I sat down gladly in the cool dining room to eat it.
I hadn't planned very far ahead for today because I didn't know how long I would spend at Vaux-le-Vicomte and I ended up leaving just before 2pm. I decided I'd go to a supermarket nearby and pick up some supplies, then I found a campsite online that was in the right direction and sounded really nice. I thought if I saw anything along the way, I could stop and have a poke around, but there was nothing really, and nothing on my map in that region. So I headed on to the campsite.
It was really one of the best I have been to as well... beautifully maintained lawns and lots of shade (it was so hot that day) and very eco-friendly. It was a pleasure to stay in.... even when it started thunderstorming and I had to quickly move everything into the car!
Campsite: Camping Ile de Boulancourt
Rating: 10/10. One of the best campsites I've been to. The reception was friendly and helpful, with an easy check in. Pitches were delightfully shady, with lovely lawns underneath. Sanitary blocks were well maintained and very clean - I think the cleanest I have seen in any campsite. A very quiet site.