Overview:
On the eastern outskirts of Paris, near the town of Vincennes, and beside the Bois de Vincennes, explore the former fortress and royal home known as The Château de Vincennes . The majority of its construction took place between 1361 and 1369, and from the 14th through 16th centuries, it served as the French Kings' favored palace, second only to the Palais de la Cité. Discover the fascinating past of this remarkable structure, which served as a prison before becoming a barracks and an arsenal during the Napoleonic era.
Highlights
- Visit the famous Château de Vincennes, and be fascinated by the all-white, classic medieval building that bears witness to its former status as a royal palace.
- Explore its lofty towers and dungeon, which served to fortify the castle during battles, and stroll around its historic hallways.
- Discover the well-preserved medieval keep, the tallest fortified tower in Europe at 52 meters, where King Henry V died and see where Fouquet , the Marquis de Sade, and Mirabeau were held.
- Experience the Gothic building's awe-inspiring external flamboyance and beautiful rose window at the Sainte Chapelle de Vincennes.
the castle is easy to reach, not crowded, which allows a comfortable visit. It contains a exposition about the french army which has free admission. For a fee you can visit the Gothic Chapel and the Tower. The Tower doesn't have furniture, but it is interesting nevertheless. After your visit I recommend to eat in front of the castle at the restaurant/brasserie Drapeau - nice food with decent prices.
Beautiful building and place to visit with lots of history. Only here a short time but enjoyed looking around everywhere.
We visited Chateau de Vincennes a few days ago and my three kids (5,8,10) loved it! I got my son a Mission Paris book from Amazon and it had it listed as one of the places to see (I recommend that book as well because it keeps the kids interested while touring the sights) We were debating between Versailles or this castle and ultimately decided to go here because it’s on the metro line and could be visited in a few hours rather than taking a majority of a day (we were only in Paris for 2.5 days). This is located in a nice little neighborhood and was not crowded at all (we maybe saw 20 other people). The kids are free and only adults pay to visit the Chapel and castle, you can walk around the interior of the fortified walls for free. The chapel was very pretty and you can climb one flight to see the view from up high as well. The castle is very cool and the Keep was like nothing else I’ve ever seen. The kids loved exploring all of the secret rooms that interconnected and walking to the top of the bell tower for a higher view. It does not have furniture but the small crowd allowed them more space to use their imagination inside each room. We probably took 2 hours to tour the castle and grounds. Then we went across the street to an Italian restaurant Barto and sat on their back patio and had delicious kids’ pizza and I had the salmon salad (yum). If you like history but don’t like the huge crowds, I would highly recommend this Chateau. Our kids said they were very happy we chose this location instead of Versailles.