Fontainebleau and Vaux-le-Vicomte in Nine Private Hours, Hotel Pickup

Nine hours, two royal estates, and a guide working for one group only. The length is the point: Fontainebleau alone can absorb half a day, and pairing it with Vaux-le-Vicomte on a shorter schedule means seeing neither properly.

Fontainebleau holds more than 800 years of royal history, and it is the only French royal palace lived in by monarchs without interruption from the Middle Ages to Napoleon III. Every reign left something behind, which is why the apartments change character as you walk. The Gallery of Francis I is the room that made French Renaissance decoration, and the throne room is Napoleon Bonaparte's own, still arranged as he used it. Versailles draws the crowds, and Fontainebleau is quieter for it, which is a real difference when you are standing in a state room trying to look at a ceiling.

Vaux-le-Vicomte follows, with the gardens that are the reason the place is famous, and the pace stays yours.

Pickup is at your hotel or at an agreed address in Paris, and the guide carries a sign with the tour or booking name.