We%26#39;ll be staying in Paris for 6 days in September and have booked tickets for an open air performance of the Magic Flute in Vaux-le-Vicomte. It doesn%26#39;t start till 9 - are we going to be able to get back to our apartment that night or will we have to find a hotel near the chateau?
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Vaux%26#39;s webpage for transportation (vaux-le-vicomte.com/en/horaires-chateaubus.p…) shows the last bus back to the Melun on Saturday%26#39;s at 22:15, and much earlier on weekdays. The last train from Melun to Paris is at 22:49 (http://www.transilien.com/FR/). On the Vaux page, there is also a number for the local taxi.
In case you%26#39;d rather stay, the website also has hotel recommendations in the area. I%26#39;ve rented a car twice to drive out there, and have found the drive to/from Paris to be pretty easy. I%26#39;ve also combined it with a visit to Fountainebleau, which isn%26#39;t too far from there.
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The RER D line runs considerably later than the last SNCF train. I haven%26#39;t checked the time of the last train, but I%26#39;d guess at around 11:45 PM, so probably still not late enough.
If you really desperately want to get back to Paris, and don%26#39;t want to hire a car, there is a night bus that serves the route from Melun to the center of Paris, I believe the N132 but again I%26#39;m typing from memory. It would take at least 1.5 hours to get into the city by bus I would guess, and you%26#39;d still have to take a taxi to the station at Melun.
All things considered, I%26#39;d probably rather stay somewhere pleasant close to the château
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As noted, the last RER %26#39;D%26#39; train back from MELUN (the RER station closest to VAUX-le-VICOMTE) runs at approx 23:45 (11:45 PM), which allows you to take the candle-light tour of the Chateau de Vaux le Vicomte.....and still make it back to Paris at the end of the evening without difficulty.
TRANSILIEN-SNCF (RER %26#39;D%26#39; info from Gare de Lyon to MELUN)--
http://www.transilien.com/FR/
CHATEAU de VAUX-le-VICOMTE--
http://www.vaux-le-vicomte.com/
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Except that the OP is talking about the open air performance of the Magic Flute, beginning at 9 PM. Unless it is heavily cut, I don%26#39;t think the last RER train is going to be late enough.
The candlelight visit to the château is a dfferent matter, since one can leave whenever one wishes.
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KDK or IrishRvr...just for my own sanity....where do you see that the last RER is at 23:45?? I%26#39;ve re-checked what I looked at before, and still don%26#39;t see anything later than the last train at 22:49 (which is an RER...not an SNCF train).
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Can%26#39;t answer for KDK, but mine was just a SWAG based on what I knew about the approximate time of the last RER train going through the center of Paris.
However, if you go to ratp.fr and ask for an itinerary from Melun to Gare de Lyon at 23:30 you will get an answer showing a RER D train leaving Melun at 23:49 arriving at Gare de Lyon 55 minutes later.
BTW, I thought there was a feaqture on the RATP site showing the times of last trains. I can%26#39;t seem to locate it. Is it me, or has it been removed?
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I double-checked the SNCF-TRANSILIEN web site (a few weeks ago, someone had some difficulty making a train out to Vaux-le-Vicomte, due to a service type--RER vs. TER--conflict in the published schedules from Gare de Lyon). The LAST TRAIN service back to Paris is the RER %26#39;D%26#39; and leaves MELUN at 23:49 (11:49 PM)
SNCF-TRANSILIEN--
http://www.transilien.com/FR/
If you%26#39;re concerned about getting back to Paris after the concert, you should probably e-mail Vaux-le-Vicomte directly and enquire about the length of the concert and whether it will end in sufficient time to make the LAST TRAIN back to Paris. I%26#39;m afraid I can%26#39;t recall the last time I attended a performance...but I%26#39;m pretty sure that the entire piece (rather than the abridged %26#39;concert %26#39; version with much of the spoken dialog omitted) with a brief intermission between acts will run over two(2) hours. If it is a %26#39;..concert..%26#39; performance of the opera, then you should be okay for time....but if it is the full performance production piece then time will be at least critical for the return.
CHATEAU de VAUX-Le-COMTE--
http://www.vaux-le-vicomte.com/
OPÉRA en PLEIN AIR Productions--
http://www.akouna.com/operaenpleinair/
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Thanks a million for your help everyone - I%26#39;ve mailed to find out how long the performance is likely to last; if it%26#39;s going to be too late to get the train I think we might hire a car and go to Fontainebleau in the morning, then tour the chateau at Vaux-le-Vicomte in the late afternoon and the gardens in the evening - they usually close the gardens at 6 but they%26#39;ll be open till midnight for people with tickets for the opera. Does that sound reasonable?
Caitriona
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Hi Caitriona -
Sounds like a splendid plan to me! I hope you do the car thing and have a great day at both places.
Lovely name, BTW, not only because you share it with one of my nices - well, one letter difference...
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Make that nieces - but she%26#39;s quite nice too!
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