Weddingbee Blog

Part One - Guidebooks and Hotels
Part Two - Sightseeing Day 1 & 2

Paris Sightseeing Day 3: Tuesday

We decided to visit Vaux Le Vicomte instead of Versailles (both grand French chateaus) because my mom had already been to Versailles on a previous trip to Paris. It was approx. a 45 min RER train ride from Paris followed by a short taxi ride once we got to the train station. We also wanted to tour Fontainebleu afterwards because it’s a short distance away via train, but it’s closed on Tuesdays.

Vaux Le Vicomte is situated in a forest and was almost completely deserted - there were only about 12 of us total on the massive grounds! That suited my crowd hating self just fine.

A little history - At the grand opening party of Vaux Le Vicomte, Louis XIV became so jealous that he arrested the host Nicolas Foquet and kidnapped his artist, landscaper, artist and architect to build Versailles. Since most of you will probably visit Versailles, I thought I’d share photos of what 17th century chateau life was like at Vaux Le Vicomte.

Oh and Eva Longoria and Tony Parker were married here.

The front of the chateau… (click any image for a larger view)

Looking out onto the main entrance.

The stables

Some of the many many bedrooms

Wedding overcoats

The ballroom

A wine cellar…

The back of the chateau

This photo doesn’t really capture how grand and well manicured the gardens were.

There are better pictures and a virtual 360 degree tour available on the website. 

Afterwards we headed back to Paris to a Korean restaurant called Bong in the Montparnasse neighborhood. It wasn’t great, but it certainly hit the spot!

Then we went to see Lido - a cabaret show on the Champs Elysees. We arrived a little late and ended up paying only about half price. There were entertaining parts, but I’d skip it. Mrs. Snow Pea says skip the Moulin Rouge show as well.

Arc de Triomphe with the Eiffel Tower in the background

to be continued…