Unlike Wojciech, when we arrived at the castle, the parking lot was deserted! It must be said that it had rained a lot the day before...

If there's one classical-style castle you shouldn't miss, this is it. Firstly, as a backdrop to its sulphurous history, and secondly, for its exceptional architecture, decor, and gardens.

As mentioned in the introduction to the TWHS, Nicolas Fouquet, the castle's commissioner, was Louis XIV's Superintendent of Finances, that is, Minister of Finance. He built the castle between 1656 and 1659 BC and the gardens between 1653 and 1660 BC.

Nicolas Fouquet surrounded himself with the most talented artists of his time: the architect Louis le Vau, the king's first architect, the painter Charles Le Brun, and the landscape architect André Le Nôtre. A true masterpiece was born from the alchemy between these three artists. They had previously been brought together at the Château de Vincennes on behalf of King Louis XIV.

Upon completion of the work, Nicolas Fouquet organized a lavish party on his estate, given in honor and worthy of his royal guest. This was enough to arouse the jealousy of the king, who had his superintendent arrested and imprisoned for life. The property was sealed and then sold, preserving it from the ravages of time. The judges at Fouquet's trial claimed that he had embezzled public funds to build this incredible monument. It is true that we learn in the museum set up in the basement of the castle and dedicated to …

August 2018 - what would be the best way from Fontainebleau to Provins, the next Whs? We took a small detour via Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte.

We thought that we might enter the park and walk around just like in Fontainebleau, but no, you had to pay entrance, and that was really high, something like 20€? No we had already seen a lot and were planning to see even more. So we took a foto, ticked off the site and went frther on to Provins. We didnt want to reach that town in the dark, since we still needed to find a capground. So again a nice little castle, but definietly not worth to stand on the list on its own.

But it seems to be a busy spot, close to Paris, many toursist are visiting that one.

This beautiful palace is located on the way from Fontainebleau to Paris. I was quite surprised as in the rainy Sunday afternoon the palace attracted more tourists than Fontainebleau and its large parking was almost totally occupied.

Entrance fee is 17 EUR normal, 13.5 reduced, so it is quite expensive, but the palace is a private property and its maintenance is, I assume, consuming lots of resources. The total area of the palace and the huge gardens is 500 hectares, out of which the formal French garden, which requires a lot of care, is 33 hectares.

The palace’s construction commenced in 1656 by Nicolas Fouquet, high official in Louis XIV court. Very soon the owner was arrested and condemned to life sentence. Ancestors of the current owners bought the palace in XIXth century.

Currently the palace is quite well preserved and it takes some time to visit it properly. If you want to visit the huge garden, there are melexes that can take tourists – distances are indeed quite big. According to the brochure provided, visiting the palace and all garden area with huge Hercules statue requires half a day tour.

The palace is one of the earliest entries on French T-List (1996) and no information was provided on its possible inscription. I am also not aware what could be an outstanding universal value of the object but anyway it was a pleasant visit not only for WHS or TWHS fans.