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Castles of Fontainebleau & Vaux le Vicomte

Small Group Tour

Vaux-le-Vicomte Castle

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2 castles in one day!

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Discover two of the most beautiful and historically interesting Chateaux in the Paris region on this small group day trip. You’ll visit the lovely Chateau and gardens of Vaux-le-Vicomte, where the “jardin à la francaise” was born and then explore the regal splendor of Fontainebleau where more than seven centuries of kings and emperors lived and shaped world history.

Vaux-le-Vicomte, with its deluxe 17th century decor and outstanding French Gardens is enchanting. It is so beautiful that it directly inspired the Sun King to build the Palace of Versailles, in order to rival it. You’ll learn about the captivating history of the estate and its past owners, wander through the perfectly ordered French Gardens, and enjoy free time to explore inside of the Chateau itself.

Fontainebleau is unparalleled in its grandiose architecture and links to important events in French History. With more than 1500 rooms inside, it is a sumptuous palace and according to Napoleon Bonaparte: “ The true home of kings, the house of ages!”. It was home to three dynasties of Kings, a Pope, and two French Emperors and as such is truly unique among the castles in Europe! You’ll explore its majestic halls, extravagantly gilded bedrooms, see Napoleon Bonaparte’s throne and learn its fascinating history.

Vaux-le-Vicomte castle
Vaux-le-Vicomte castle

Two Amazing Castles Just Outside of Paris

Meet up with our guide in central Paris, at the Place Saint Michel, and head on a day trip to explore two amazing castles that are just outside of Paris: Vaux-le-Vicomte and Fontainebleau. On this day trip the group size is limited to no more than 8 people and the drive, in our luxury van, is only about 50 minutes long each way. So you’ll enjoy not being in a crowd and having lots of time to visit Vaux-le-Vicomte and Fontainebleau.

Your guide will give you a detailed introduction to both castles and their previous inhabitants. Afterwards you will have free time to explore and focus yourself on the most interesting aspects of each castle and its grounds. Inside each castle you will be given an audio-guide and when you are done with the interior you will be able to wander among the beautiful flower displays, bubbling fountains, and perfectly trimmed shrubbery.

Vaux-le-Vicomte gardens
Vaux-le-Vicomte gardens

Vaux le Vicomte: the Envy of all

Vaux-le-Vicomte was built for Nicolas Fouquet, Minister of Finance, of King Louis XIV. Fouquet united the most talented French architect, artist, and gardener of his day in order to create the most splendid castle and gardens in France. This dream team consisted of the renowned architect: Louis Le Vau, the artist and interior designer: Charles Le Brun, and the the father of the French garden: André Le Nôtre.

When finished, Vaux-le-Vicomte was the envy of every lord in France, even the king coveted it. So Fouquet was imprisoned, Vaux-le-Vicomte was confiscated, and the talented trio that had created Vaux-le-Vicomte were restricted to working solely for the King himself. The King went so far as to commission the trio to build him a new castle and gardens in the same style as Vaux-le-Vicomte: The Palace of Versailles. Still, today, many prefer the original masterpiece and all of its charm: Vaux-le-Vicomte.

Fontainebleau: “The True Home of Kings”

Fontainebleau, is the only royal castle in France to have been continuously inhabited for 700+ years! Started as a fortress in the 1100’s this amazing Castle turned into a sumptuous Palace little by little thanks to the many Kings, Emperors, and a Pope who lived there. Today Fontainebleau contains amazing architecture and interior decorations dating from the Medieval times, through the Renaissance, and into the 2nd French Empire.

Renowned Medieval saints Thomas à Becket and King Saint Louis dedicated it’s chapels, during the Renaissance Queen Marie of Medici gave birth to 6 children here, and when Napoleon Bonaparte reigned as Emperor of France he installed his throne in Fontainebleau. Among all of the castles and royal residences in France none were cared for more by the nobility than Fontainebleau. It is truly a magnificent palace that should not be missed!

Fontainebleau castle
Fontainebleau castle

Good to Know:

  • This tour finishes around 6:30pm back in Paris.
  • For those with a valid drivers license golf carts are available for rental in the gardens of Vaux-le-Vicomte at your own cost.
  • Lunch costs are not included in the tour price but there will be plenty of great food options to choose from in the town of Fontainebleau where we will have a break for lunch.
  • Gratuities aka "tips" are not included but welcomed by our guides.

Group size

Max. 8 pers. per tour

Duration

9hrs
Back in Paris around 6:30PM

What's Included

  • Transportation by luxury A/C minibus
  • Friendly & Knowledgeable guide
  • Fontainebleau castle tickets
  • Vaux-le-Vicomte castle tickets

Language

All of our tours are commented in English

Dates & Times

April to October
8:30AM

Meeting point

6 Avenue de Wagram, Paris

Click here for picture
Reservation required

Tour Highlights

Vaux-le-Vicomte Castle

Vaux-le-Vicomte is so lovely that the TV series Versailles if filmed there!

Gardens of Vaux le Vicomte

Designed by André Le Nôtre these French Gardens are 100 acres big!

Town of Fontainebleau

For lunch you will be able to eat at one of the many cafés or bakeries in the town of Fontainebleau.

Fontainebleau Castle

One of the biggest and most beautiful Palaces in France, filled with the glory of the nobility of France.

Blandy-les-Tours Castle

Between Vaux-le-Vicomte and Fontainebleau there will be a photo stop to this charming medieval castle.

Great Guide

Enjoy learning the history of these magnificent castles from a passionate guide who loves their job!

Free Time

You will have loads of free time to explore at your leisure and focus on what interests you the most!

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people are in the group?
We keep our group small in order to give you a better service. Only 8 people in the group.
What is the Cancellation Policy?

We allow you to cancel, for any reason, up to 24 hours before the start of your tour. It’s easy to cancel just send us an email then we’ll give you a full refund.

If you fail to email with your cancellation at least 24 hours before the tour starts then we will not be able to provide you with a refund.

How far in advance should I book?
You should book your spots on this tour at least 3 weeks before the date of the tour you want to take.
Can kids join this tour?

We accept children that are at least 7 years old on this tour. While this tour’s content was not planned out with kids in mind we do allow children that are aged at least 7 years old to join it with one of their parents. Kids younger than 7 years cannot join this tour as we do NOT have the suitable baby/child seats for them to ride in that are required by European law.

I have a special dietary restriction (vegan/gluten-free/kosher), what is there for me to eat?
On this tour we stop in the charming town of Fontainebleau where you can choose from a dozen great cafés, restaurants, and boulangeries. We’re sure you will be able to find something that you can and will enjoy eating (salads for example).
Can I rent a golf cart in the gardens of Vaux-le-Vicomte?
Yes. The cost is not included in our tour price, you can pay on site by cash or credit card. You will need a credit card for the security deposit. Also make sure to bring your driver’s licence (any country is valid).

Love It Or Get Your Money Back

We are committed to giving you the best experience possible, in case the tour you took with us didn’t meet your expectation we are happy to give a full refund as long as you participated in the entire tour and tell your guide at the end of the tour.

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We appreciate and reward fidelity!

Planning on booking multiple tours with us? Contact us to receive a 10% discount.

Discount only apply when booking 2, 3 or 4 tours on different dates.

Free Cancellation

We understand that unexpected events can change your travel plans; for this reason Blue Fox Travel offers a full refund, for any reason, if you cancel more than 24hrs before your reserved tour is scheduled to start.

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