This year, our summer vacation in 2022 is taking place in the Paris region. August is said to be the best time to visit Paris, so here we go! These holidays will be without Rapido because we wanted to visit Paris and stay for several days. For obvious reasons, we traveled by car. Visiting capitals in a motorhome is certainly doable but, let’s admit it… complicated!
So, we stayed at the Huttopia campsite in Versailles in a lovely little cabin. It was perfect, just 30 minutes from Paris, and as always, we were delighted to be at Huttopia.
We started our vacation with the Château de Fontainebleau. The first impression is spectacular with its large golden gates, and once through the portal, you see a magnificent double staircase. The interior is richly furnished and perfectly preserved. As you will see, the châteaux in the Paris region are truly breathtaking!
Fontainebleau is THE château that was passed down from generation to generation by the kings. François I transformed the medieval château into an Italian-style palace, and it was later modified by Napoleon I, who left it with the only remaining Napoleonic throne room. The ballroom is sumptuous, with perfectly preserved woodwork and paintings.
In the gardens, the lake invites you for a romantic boat ride, and for those who are not keen on boating, you can also take a carriage or train ride. These attractions are additional and not included in the entrance ticket.
As with every château visit, we took an audio guide or video guide for Choupinou. This allows him to tour at his own pace with explanations suited to his age.
The next day, we headed to the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, nestled in the heart of nature. It has nothing to envy of its neighbor! The rooms are equally furnished and well-preserved. There’s a ballroom with sound and light effects and an immense park where you can rent an electric cart by the hour. It’s quite expensive, but the estate is vast, and with young children, we couldn’t explore everything on foot.
In 1641, Nicolas Fouquet became the owner. Twenty years later, he made it a unique masterpiece: the château and its gardens are among the most beautiful in France. For its transformation, he brought together Louis Le Vau, Charles Le Brun, and André Le Nôtre, whose garden designs inspired those of Versailles.
On site, you’ll also find a restaurant/cafeteria with homemade cuisine and a small snack bar. For the more adventurous, there’s an interactive tour with actors in the château’s underground passages for children aged six and up! Unfortunately, Choupinette was too young for this, so we didn’t participate, but if you do, please share your experience in the comments.
