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Paris Day Trip: Fontainebleau and Vaux le Vicomte Castles Exploration
4.1
339 Ratings
Paris
Embark on a captivating day trip from Paris to explore the enchanting Fontainebleau and Vaux le Vicomte castles. Immerse yourself in the rich history, art, and opulence of these magnificent French landmarks, and wander through their stunning gardens and grounds.
Embark on a captivating day trip from Paris to explore the enchanting Fontainebleau and Vaux le Vicomte castles. Immerse yourself in the rich history, art, and opulence of these magnificent French landmarks, and wander through their stunning gardens and grounds.
Duration:
9 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Le Styx, River of the Underworld - Travel in style on a luxury coach heading southeast to reach Vaux le Vicomte, approximately 35 miles (55 km) away.
- Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte - The main highlight is the Vaux le Vicomte Castle, a stunning Baroque chateau that is said to have inspired the Palace of Versailles. Disembark from the coach and…
- Le Styx, River of the Underworld - Travel in style on a luxury coach heading southeast to reach Vaux le Vicomte, approximately 35 miles (55 km) away.
- Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte - The main highlight is the Vaux le Vicomte Castle, a stunning Baroque chateau that is said to have inspired the Palace of Versailles. Disembark from the coach and embark on an audio-guided tour. Upon arrival, explore at your own pace with the provided audio guide. Discover the intricate interiors and vaulted cellars, and learn about Nicholas Fouquet, King Louis XIV’s finance minister, who commissioned the chateau. The king, feeling overshadowed, imprisoned Fouquet after the chateau’s completion. After exploring inside, step outside to enjoy the 99 acres (40 hectares) of grounds featuring fountains, flowerbeds, and expansive lawns. If you’re feeling peckish, visit the onsite café for lunch (at your own expense) before returning to the coach.
- Fontainebleau Forest (Forêt de Fontainebleau) - At 1:15/1:30 pm, head south to Château de Fontainebleau, the only royal castle in France to have been continuously inhabited for over 700 years.
- Tourist Fontainebleau - With its Renaissance architecture, ceiling frescoes, 15th-century furniture, and intricate wood carvings, this World Heritage site offers a wonderful alternative to Versailles. Explore the building independently with the audio guide, learning about the French royalty who once resided here.
- Chateau de Fontainebleau - Château Fontainebleau, the only royal castle continuously inhabited for more than seven centuries, stands as one of France’s most remarkable palaces, earning its place on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.
Explore the building independently with the audio guide, listening to stories of the French royalty who once lived here. Château de Fontainebleau also boasts extensive gardens and lakes, so take the opportunity to stroll through the grounds.
What's Included
- Access to the dome of the Vaux-le-Vicomte Castle
- Period costume rentals for children to transport them back to the 17th century
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Audioguides at both castles
- Entrance tickets to Fontainebleau and Vaux-le-Vicomte castles
- Access to the dome of the Vaux-le-Vicomte Castle
- Period costume rentals for children to transport them back to the 17th century
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Audioguides at both castles
- Entrance tickets to Fontainebleau and Vaux-le-Vicomte castles
What's Not Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Gratuities
- Food and drinks
- Guided visit
- On-board WiFi
- On-board restrooms
- Headset
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Gratuities
- Food and drinks
- Guided visit
- On-board WiFi
- On-board restrooms
- Headset
Additional Information
Embark on a day tour from Paris to visit the splendid French fortresses of Vaux le Vicomte and Château Fontainebleau! Each location includes an audio-guided tour offering insights into the history, art, and the fascinating monarchs who once lived there. Take advantage of your leisure time to wander around the castle gardens, marveling at the opulent…
Embark on a day tour from Paris to visit the splendid French fortresses of Vaux le Vicomte and Château Fontainebleau! Each location includes an audio-guided tour offering insights into the history, art, and the fascinating monarchs who once lived there. Take advantage of your leisure time to wander around the castle gardens, marveling at the opulent fountains, lakes, and landmarks that epitomized palace terrains in the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
- The access to the dome of the Vaux-le-Vicomte Castle is reserved to people over 1.35 m
- Arrival in Paris at the end of the tour expected around 6:15 pm
- Audio guided tour of the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte (available in French, English, Spanish, Italian, German, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, and Portuguese)
- Audio guided tour of the Château de Fontainebleau (available in French, English, Spanish, Italian, German, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Dutch, Portuguese, and Polish)
Location
Pullman Paris Centre - Bercy
Rue de Libourne
Metro Station : Cour Saint Emilion - Line 14 (Exit N°1 - 2)
BUS : N°24 + 111 + 109 Stop Terroirs de France
Meet our representative with a Paris City Vision sign, outside the hotel
(in front of the main entrance)
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.1
(339 Ratings)
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Marjorie_m
Oct 23, 2025
Magnificent Chateaux to view - There’s a lot of walking involved, but lots to see! Many of the rooms are furnished in authentic pieces & fabrics.
Review provided by Viator
Brigitte_k
Aug 11, 2025
Great tour! See Chateau life in a more low key less crowded experience - A no hassle trip. It is self guided but the coach ride was relaxing and they are timely and give you plenty of time to explore and eat. The Chateau Fontainebleau was not crowded and really let you see so much more of chateau life. The Vaux le Vicomte Chateau was also amazing although smaller.
Review provided by Viator
Campbell_l
Jun 23, 2025
Great day, highly recommend - Great day, easy to find meeting point and the staff were extremely efficient ensuring we all had tickets and passes. Time allowed at each location was perfect. Coach driver was very courteous and professional.
Review provided by Viator
9travelfiend9
Sep 26, 2025
Beautiful castles - This is a large bus tour with no tour guide. You basically get transportation to the castles and admission tickets with an audio guide. The bus driver kind of points you in the direction you need to go and tells you when to be back to the bus. I enjoyed both castles and it was an efficient way to see them. There was plenty of time at each castle with enough time to get lunch in town after the first castle.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dianeco2620ct
Jun 27, 2025
Great, but... - Fontainebleau was beautiful but too crowded to enjoy fully. Vaux-le-Vicomte was equally beautiful and waa my favorite of the two. They had a better audio tour and headsets, and it didn't have lots of visiting school children like Fontainebleau. It would be nice if we were provided with maps of the castles ahead of time, even if only a pdf for our phones. Trying to locate restrooms and food were time-consuming and you really can't dawdle if you want to see everything. We arrived at Vaux-le-Vicomte after lunch so there were limited items left to buy in their café. I wish I had brought a lunch to eat on Vaux-le-Vicomte's beautiful grounds. They had tables for this purpose. The bus was comfortable but we were stuck in horrible traffic returning to Paris. I will definitely want to return to Vaux-le-Vicomte.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
V7jfrqdvcp
Oct 3, 2025
I expected a guide to at... - I expected a guide to at least accompany us on our trip, possibly discuss some of the local history. We had only a bus driver, who was friendly but gave us no instructions. The buildings were amazing. I really wanted to row a boat at Fontainebleau, but they were not open that day; there was no explanation why.
Review provided by Viator
Carmen_m
Aug 12, 2025
Enjoyable but could be better - Unfortunately this fell a little short of our expectations. Whilst it was professionally organised there is no commentary from the bus driver. He pulls the bus up somewhere near the entrance to the palace / chateau and didn’t even tell us the direction to go to get in. This left everyone a little confused. Fontainebleau and Villa Vicomte were enjoyable though.
Review provided by Viator
Val_b
Aug 9, 2025
Uncomfortable ride - The bus’s air conditioner wasn’t working; despite the driver’s claims, the fan was only circulating very hot, room-temperature air.
Review provided by Viator
Warren44k
Jul 1, 2025
Foul-smelling bus - The trip was spoilt by the bus. The air conditioning emitted a foul-smelling blast like stale cigarettes or sweaty clothing. The driver was exceptionally careful, manoeuvring expertly in narrow streets and tight corners.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Disgruntled011
Nov 12, 2025
Beware Paris City Vision - My wife and I booked this tour through Viator with the operator, Paris City Vision, 157 days before our visit and paid $265 well in advance of day it was due. My wife and I began to feel ill several days before the trip and worsened the day before.We called to cancel 20 hours before the trip was scheduled and asked for a refund . We were denied even a partial refund as the company cited their “ 24 hour cancellation policy “ that they couldn’t possibly violate.My wife and I could have gone on the tour and exposed guests and staff to our illness but we did the responsible thing and stayed away. To add insult to injury the company was offering the tour on the day we were scheduled for half of what we paid ! We will have to rethink our strategy of booking in advance in light of this operator’s inflexibility and their willingness to slash prices .
Review provided by Tripadvisor
