The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte estate is the perfect embodiment of the splendor of French gardens. Designed by André Le Nôtre, the vast 33-hectare garden was commissioned by Nicolas Fouquet, the Superintendent of Finance of Louis XIV.
The garden, in perfect harmony with the architectural work of Louis Le Vau, "is arranged around a brilliantly controlled perspective, more than three kilometers long", we can read on the estate's website. Visitors are welcomed every day from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and the full price ticket to access the gardens is 12.50 euros. Candlelight evenings are planned every Saturday from June 1 to September 28, and the gardens are open to the public at all times of the day and night. The gardens were purchased and restored in 1875 by Alfred Sommier, and his descendants continue to maintain the place and enhance it. A permanent exhibition and a large audiovisual model have been set up in the basement of the castle.