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Discover two of the most beautiful and historically interesting Chateaux in the Paris region on this small group day trip. You’ll visit the lovely Chateau and gardens of Vaux-le-Vicomte, where the “jardin à la francaise” was born and then explore the regal splendor of Fontainebleau where more than seven centuries of kings and emperors lived and shaped world history.
Vaux-le-Vicomte, with its deluxe 17th century decor and outstanding French Gardens is enchanting. It is so beautiful that it directly inspired the Sun King to build the Palace of Versailles, in order to rival it. You’ll learn about the captivating history of the estate and its past owners, wander through the perfectly ordered French Gardens, and enjoy free time to explore inside of the Chateau itself.
Fontainebleau is unparalleled in its grandiose architecture and links to important events in French History. With more than 1500 rooms inside, it is a sumptuous palace and according to Napoleon Bonaparte: “ The true home of kings, the house of ages!”. It was home to three dynasties of Kings, a Pope, and two French Emperors and as such is truly unique among the castles in Europe! You’ll explore its majestic halls, extravagantly gilded bedrooms, see Napoleon Bonaparte’s throne and learn its fascinating history.
Meet up with our guide in central Paris and head on a day trip to explore two amazing castles that are just outside of Paris: Vaux-le-Vicomte and Fontainebleau. On this day trip the group size is limited to no more than 8 people and the drive, in our luxury van, is only about 50 minutes long each way. So you’ll enjoy not being in a crowd and having lots of time to visit Vaux-le-Vicomte and Fontainebleau.
Your guide will give you a detailed introduction to both castles and their previous inhabitants. Afterwards you will have free time to explore and focus yourself on the most interesting aspects of each castle and its grounds. Inside each castle you will be given an audio-guide and when you are done with the interior you will be able to wander among the beautiful flower displays, bubbling fountains, and perfectly trimmed shrubbery.
Vaux-le-Vicomte was built for Nicolas Fouquet, Minister of Finance, of King Louis XIV. Fouquet united the most talented French architect, artist, and gardener of his day in order to create the most splendid castle and gardens in France. This dream team consisted of the renowned architect: Louis Le Vau, the artist and interior designer: Charles Le Brun, and the the father of the French garden: André Le Nôtre.
When finished, Vaux-le-Vicomte was the envy of every lord in France, even the king coveted it. So Fouquet was imprisoned, Vaux-le-Vicomte was confiscated, and the talented trio that had created Vaux-le-Vicomte were restricted to working solely for the King himself. The King went so far as to commission the trio to build him a new castle and gardens in the same style as Vaux-le-Vicomte: The Palace of Versailles. Still, today, many prefer the original masterpiece and all of its charm: Vaux-le-Vicomte.
Fontainebleau, is the only royal castle in France to have been continuously inhabited for 700+ years! Started as a fortress in the 1100’s this amazing Castle turned into a sumptuous Palace little by little thanks to the many Kings, Emperors, and a Pope who lived there. Today Fontainebleau contains amazing architecture and interior decorations dating from the Medieval times, through the Renaissance, and into the 2nd French Empire.
Renowned Medieval saints Thomas à Becket and King Saint Louis dedicated it’s chapels, during the Renaissance Queen Marie of Medici gave birth to 6 children here, and when Napoleon Bonaparte reigned as Emperor of France he installed his throne in Fontainebleau. Among all of the castles and royal residences in France none were cared for more by the nobility than Fontainebleau. It is truly a magnificent palace that should not be missed!
Group size
Max. 8 pers. per tour
Duration
9hrs
Back in Paris around 6:30PM
What's Included
Language
All of our tours are commented in English
Dates & Times
April to October
8:30AM
Meeting point
6 Avenue de Wagram, Paris
Click here for picture
Reservation required
For the Fontainebleau & Vaux-le-Vicomte Castles Day Trip from Paris,you will meet with your driver-guide outside of 6 Avenue de Wagram in Paris, it's located 300ft from the Arc de Triomphe.
Tour Highlights
Vaux-le-Vicomte Castle
Vaux-le-Vicomte is so lovely that the TV series Versailles if filmed there!
Gardens of Vaux le Vicomte
Designed by André Le Nôtre these French Gardens are 100 acres big!
Town of Fontainebleau
For lunch you will be able to eat at one of the many cafés or bakeries in the town of Fontainebleau.
Fontainebleau Castle
One of the biggest and most beautiful Palaces in France, filled with the glory of the nobility of France.
Blandy-les-Tours Castle
Between Vaux-le-Vicomte and Fontainebleau there will be a photo stop to this charming medieval castle.
Great Guide
Enjoy learning the history of these magnificent castles from a passionate guide who loves their job!
Free Time
You will have loads of free time to explore at your leisure and focus on what interests you the most!
Frequently Asked Questions
We allow you to cancel, for any reason, up to 24 hours before the start of your tour. It’s easy to cancel just send us an email then we’ll give you a full refund.
If you fail to email with your cancellation at least 24 hours before the tour starts then we will not be able to provide you with a refund.
We accept children that are at least 7 years old on this tour. While this tour’s content was not planned out with kids in mind we do allow children that are aged at least 7 years old to join it with one of their parents. Kids younger than 7 years cannot join this tour as we do NOT have the suitable baby/child seats for them to ride in that are required by European law.
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We appreciate and reward fidelity!
Planning on booking multiple tours with us? Contact us to receive a 10% discount.
Discount only apply when booking 2, 3 or 4 tours on different dates.
We understand that unexpected events can change your travel plans; for this reason Blue Fox Travel offers a full refund, for any reason, if you cancel more than 24hrs before your reserved tour is scheduled to start.
Small Group = Better Experience
We keep our groups small to ensure a more personal and higher quality experience for you.
Looking for more?
These are the Terms & Conditions that apply to any tour run by BLUE FOX TRAVEL in France under the brands BLUE BIKE TOURS or BLUE FOX TRAVEL.
In this document, BLUE BIKE TOURS might be abbreviated as BBT and BLUE FOX TRAVEL as BFT.
BLUE FOX TRAVEL is a registered SARL (Société à Responsabilité Limitée - Limited Liability Company) at the Paris Chamber of Commerce under the number : 534 151 576
BLUE FOX TRAVEL is a registered French Travel Operator under the licence : IM075160040
BLUE FOX TRAVEL is a registered Public Service Vehicle Operator under the Licence : 2016/11/0007784
Because BLUE FOX TRAVEL is a registered French company, and all of our tours take place in France, only the French Law will apply in the case of any conflict.
Last updated : January 2019.
Valid until : the end of the world.
I - Cancellation Policy
BFT offers a 100% refund if a reservation is cancelled more than 24 hours before the scheduled start of the tour. The notification must be made by email. No refunds are given for ANY reason once within the 24 hrs prior to the scheduled tour.
All of our tours run Rain or Shine. We do not issue refunds if you choose to skip your tour because the weather doesn’t suit you. You can always wait until the last minute to book your tour to ensure the weather suits you that day.
BFT reserves the right to cancel any of its tours last minute in case of an Act of God or crazy act from a large group of people. Flooding, hail, dangerous weather conditions, riots, etc. In such instances full refunds will be given to anyone who had their tour cancelled.
II - Satisfaction Guarantee Policy
If the tour you took with us didn’t live up to what we promised you on our website and failed to meet your expectations, we will be heartbroken. We will also give you a 100% refund so long as you do all of these things:
You remember that we we are in no way responsible for the weather and that our guides actually have to give 110% of themselves to you on days when the weather is not as nice in order to help you enjoy the tour.
You participate in the entire tour from: being on time at the meeting point until the “goodbyes” at the very end of the tour. You can’t leave a tour half-way and ask for your money back.
At the end of the tour you tell your guide, in person, that you were not satisfied with the tour you took.
You provide your tour guide with the reasons you were not satisfied with the tour itself.
III - Payment Policy
A valid credit card is required to secure your booking. All reservations must be prepaid online prior to the tour. We accept Visa, Mastercard. None of your personal credit card or billing information is stored by BFT.
IV - Privacy Policy
We are committed to protecting your privacy. Your personal informations will never be disclosed to any third parties.
V - Child Policy
All reservations made for children under the age of 18 years old must be made by an adult and we must be informed at the time of booking exactly how many children are in your party and their ages. This is vital information as it allows our guide to prepare the proper child sized equipments for the bike tours and the booster seats for all day trips/excursions that use one of our vans.
All reservations made for a minor under the age of 18 years old must also include the reservation for an adult who will be 100% solely responsible for the safety and well being of the child while on the tour.
Every child, under the age of 12 years old, partaking in a bicycle tour will be required to wear a helmet and a reflective vest as per French Law.
The adult who accompanies the child agrees to the responsibility of choosing a properly sized helmet, adjusting the helmet, and keeping the helmet on the head of the child during the whole tour. Blue Fox Travel has helmets in multiple sizes for you to choose from at no cost.
Don't forget: Children who will be riding in a baby/child seat, on a tandem attachment bike, or in a booster seat in one of our vans absolutely MUST have their seat reserved beforehand. We NEED to know exactly what your child will need before they show up. Please make it clear in the “Special Requirements” section of our booking form.
VI- Child Bike Policy
Children who will be riding on their own may be subject to a very short test run before the tour starts in which they will be expected to demonstrate: that they are well suited for their bike’s size and settings, that they know how to brake properly and that they are, in general, good cyclists who can be trusted to follow their tour guide in a safe manner.
We own 20” and 24” kids bikes (size of the wheel). Adult bikes are 26”.
If the guide, or manager, finds that the child is not, for any reason, a good enough cyclist then the guide, or manager, has the right to refuse to let the child follow the tour on a personal bike.
This means they will either be asked to ride on one of our ‘tandem attachments’ which is attached to the back of a parents bike OR asked to ride in a child seat attached to the back of a parents bike. If the child refuses the change, then the guide or manager has the right to cancel the reservation, and not allow you and your child on the bike tour.
Refunds will not be issued if your reservation is cancelled because of your child not being able to cycle and their refusal to ride attached to you.
Baby seats are for kids that are between the ages of 1 and 3 years old (max weight 22 kg (48 lbs)).
We also have some cool Burley™ tandem attachment bikes that are suitable for little kids who are too big for the baby seat but too small to cycle on their own (max weight 38 kg (85 lbs) - max height 137 cm (4 ft 6 in)).
VII - Damages to Blue Fox Travel Property
If you or anyone in your party damages a vehicle, a Blue Bike™, a vehicle, a child's bike, a helmet, a baby/child seat, a tandem attachment bike, any bike attachments, or a booster seat in such a way that it becomes badly disfigured, broken, or unusable, then BFT reserves the right to claim a fee of up to the cost of repair of the damaged bike/vehicle or object.
VIII - Miscellaneous
You and everyone in your party will be kind and respectful of your guide. You and everyone in your party will do their best to follow the safety instructions given orally by the guide before the start of the tour and during the tour.