Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte: High Crimes & Misdemeanours – Part 2

The notorious history of Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte continued to reveal itself as we roamed its historic halls. For in the basement, not only did we find the kitchens and servants’ dining room, we also came upon an unexpected character.

The Man in the Iron Mask

There before us, sitting in a small staircase, was a likeness of The Man in the Iron Mask. Our guide informed us that this iconic figure had two connections to Vaux-le-Vicomte. For he too had been confined at Pignerol prison at the same time as Nicolas Fouquet, the high flying creator of Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte. In fact, he served as Fouquet’s valet for a time. The second connection: part of the movie, The Man in the Iron Mask, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was filmed here.

Murder and Mayhem

A stroll through les chambres of Madame Fouquet uncovered yet another crime connected with Vaux-le-Vicomte. At first blush, the heavenly ceiling and graceful blue damask walls and furnishings would not lead one to assume an association with unsavoury behaviour. 

However, as we moved through these elegant rooms, a small alcove decorated to honour Jean de La Fontaine, a poet supported by Nicolas Fouquet, gave a hint of exactly that. For this tribute, as well as the daffodil yellow furnishings of the adjoining Praslin room, were divided from Madame Fouquet’s former antechamber around 1780 by the Choiseul-Praslin family. And it is here that the intrigue arises. For in 1847, while travelling from Vaux-le-Vicomte to Dieppe, tragedy befell the Duke and Duchess de Choiseul-Praslin.

They spent that night at their Paris residence at 55 rue de Faubourg Saint-Honoré. Early the next morning, staff entered the duchess’ room after hearing unusual noise coming from it. They found her suffering from multiple stab wounds. She died a short while later. All evidence pointed to her husband as the culprit. Sadly, he was arrested and died by suicide within a fortnight, ingesting arsenic while imprisoned at le Palais de Luxembourg. Interestingly, their grand Parisian home is now better known as le Palais de l’Élysée, the official headquarters of the President of the French Republic.

A Most Elegant Family Room

One last set of rooms we passed through holds a more tender memory of Vaux-le-Vicompte. The regal library, with it’s gleaming checker-board floor and wood panelled bookshelves, once acted as the living room for the current owners of the château. And the sons of the current owners can recall having to tidy up their toys to accommodate the first public tours of this grand house in 1980.

Flying High

The official tour complete, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to see Vaux-le-Vicompte from a different angle. And so, I made my up to the attic, then wound further upwards through a forest of oak beams to the pinnacle – the cupola of the dome. A journey not for the faint of heart, I can assure you.

And as I emerged into the sunlight, 25 feet above ground, I was greeted by a breathtaking 360° view of the grounds. This included the outbuilding complex Madame et Monsieur de Vogüé, the current owners, use as their residence. This was the site of the brazen, multi-million Euro robbery that had taken place earlier that morning of which I wrote in Part I of this tour.

And, as luck would have it, another small drama played out right before my eyes. For, as I stood there on top of the dome, a helicopter approached and proceeded to land on the lawn in front of me. And with a flurry of activity, staff quickly escorted its elegant guests into the château. 

With that excitement complete, I made my way around the cupola, amidst the impressive mansard roofs, to the rear of the château. This gave me the chance to see the impressive façade from a different perspective.

The Gardens of Le Nôtre

And here I discovered one of the best perspectives from which to view the stunning gardens of renowned landscape architect André Le Nôtre. With such beauty, it’s no wonder that King Louis IV hired him to design the gardens of Versailles. Such a wonderful example of the grandeur, precision and intricacy of French Garden design. 

And with that, it was time to say ‘au revoir‘ to the drama and intrigue of Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte. But not before catching one last glimpse of its gorgeous jardins!

Catch up on the other fascinating high crimes and misdemeanours of this amazing French château in my post Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte: High Crimes & Misdemeanours – Part 1.

Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte  Maincy, 77950, Ile-de-France, France

---