Maincy (near Melun) -- Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte

The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte and its gardens were created in the seventeenth century and served as the inspiration for Louis XIV's Versailles. Following his purchase of the estate in 1641, owner Nicolas Fouquet commissioned architect Louis Le Vau to design the château, Charles Le Brun to design the interiors and garden statuary, and André Le Nôtre to plan the gardens. The garden's design included parterres, fountains and water features, terraces, and avenues of hornbeams laid out in rectilinear lines. Stone statues and ornamental urns provided accents. Completed in 1661, around the time of Fouquet's arrest and fall from power, the garden has undergone a few modifications over the years, but continues to evoke the majesty of le Grand Siècle.

Persons associated with the garden include Nicolas Fouquet (former owner, 1641-1661); Louis Le Vau (architect, circa 1641); Charles Le Brun (interior designer, circa 1641); and André Le Nôtre (landscape architect, 1641-1661).