Before there was Versaille

As I alluded to on a previous post about Paris, it was important to my expert and I that our trip was full of sight-seeing and Christmas Markets.

The Palace of Versaille was naturally a top contender for a half day's trip due to its history and grandeur.  It's almost always on a tourist's list of things to see when they go to Paris.  And it WAS on our list, until we found out about the Castle of VAUX LE VICOMTE.

Vaux le Vicomte is about an hour's train ride south east of Paris followed by a 15 minute taxi ride to the grounds from the train station.  It is known as the inspiration for Versaille.  This is because the architect who designed and transformed what was once a royal hunting lodge into the infamous Palace of Versaille did so at Vaux le Vicomte prior.Well, he and two other architects designed both places.  But Louis le Vaux somehow managed to get his name tagged to this earlier estate, so we'll just focus on him. :)

We chose to visit here over Versaille for one particular reason: Vaux-le-Vicomte fete Noel.  Vaux le Vicomte celebrates Christmas.

And celebrate they did!  A multitude of rooms were dressed up for the holiday, each with their own brand and flavor of Christmas spirit.  The elegantly patterned shrubbery were laced with ornamental lights on the back grounds.  Children and adults alike enjoyed a carousel ride in the front grounds.  Nearby, people purchased hot spiced wine, vin chaud, perfect on a cold winter night.

For 4 Euro per child, you could rent a period costume for your kids.  These two were insanely cute as they received a free gift out of the treasure chest. 

Mushroom Santa Land was probably my favorite room.

Someone cleverly integrated Mushroom Santa Land with Owl bushes.

We felt like we were outdoors in a deep French forest in this room.

This is Nicolas Fouquet, the finance minister at the time who had the Vaux le Vicomte built.  Unfortunately, the castle was more grand than the king's home at the time, and making a king look bad is not recommended. In 1661, the 22-year-old King Louis XIV attended the grandest of parties at Vaux le Vicomte and the party's magnificence was rivaled by only one or two celebrations in all of France's history.   Three weeks later, Nicolas Fouquet was arrested.  Influenced by other power-hungry advisers, the young king claimed he would not have been able to build such a castle and throw such a party without embezzling from the crown.   Fouquet was imprisoned for the rest of his life.  He died in a prison called Pignerol in 1680, 19 years later. Tragic.

Nice dining room!  

Once it became dark outside, the trees were lit  to make the castle even more beautiful.

The landscape in the back yard was gorgeous while accented with lights.

Versaille would have been a great experience but Vaux le Vicomte was way more memorable to us with the addition of the Christmas spirit.  The only thing we regret is not getting more time to explore the outside gardens considering the estate is quite vast.

We appreciated Vaux le Vicomte because it is not as popular on the "Paris Must-See List".  Would we go back  now that we've been there once?  Probably not.  But seeing what it's like, especially at Christmas time, made it completely worth it!  For those who know they will never get to go in person, here's a video I took in one of our favorite rooms. I apologize for my camera's poor quality!