Fontainebleau & Vaux le Vicomte - Full Day Tour

Departing from your Paris hotel, your expert driver guide will drive you to visit Fontainebleau Palace and Vaux le Vicomte private inhabited castle. The Fontainebleau Palace stands at the heart of an immense forest in the Ile-de-France. Originally a 12th-century royal hunting lodge, it was transformed, enlarged and embellished by King Francois I in the 16thcentury. His fascination with the Italian Renaissance led to the construction of the famous Great Gallery (Galerie Francois I). In the 19th century the palace became the favorite residence of Napoleon. He initiated major architectural changes. The Salle de Bal, the Imperial Theater, and Napoleon's apartments are of particular interest. Lunch suggested at the charming Barbizon village, located in the middle of the Fontainebleau forest. After lunch, you will visit Vaux le Vicomte Castle. In 1661 Nicolas Fouquet along with the work of other great figures of this century, Louis Le Vau, Charles Le Brun and André Le Nôtre, was able to transform the small castle that he bought twenty years earlier into a 17th century masterpiece. The palace boasts magnificent ceilings, lavish furnishings, as well as a stunning garden. You will enjoy seeing the ornamental lakes and fountains which descend to a formal canal.