Chateau de Vincennes - Oui or Non?

We went to Vincennes on our last trip and thoroughly enjoyed it. We too had been to Paris many times and thought Chateau de Vincennes was something we'd not seen. There were virtually no crowds and we had a leisurely morning visiting the Chateau. We then had lunch in the town and strolled around doing a bit of shopping. It's an easy trip out and back on the metro/RER.

I'd recommend it, Andrea. I visited on my last trip a couple of years ago. The chateau itself is interesting and well-preserved, and the big Bois provides lots of walking options. This recent thread discusses more. Wouldn't be on my top-ten list or my first-trip-must-see list, but for an old pro like you it would be a good experience. ;-) Have a good trip.

EDIT: It wasn't crowded at all when I visited on a September weekday, might be a little busier on a free-museum day but nothing like the blockbuster sights we all know and love.

You'll miss school vacations, which is a good thing.
Chateau de Vincennes is not usually crowded, but on a Sunday - and especially if the weather is nice - you can expect the park to be crowded.
Chateau de Vincennes is pretty stark and there's not much inside the buildings.

If you wanted to see someplace more spectacular, but still easy to reach from Paris and not very crowded, I'd recommend Chateau de Fontainebleau.

I was wondering the same thing, but next week. Chexbres, when are school vacations?

I went when I was in Paris last month. I'd say non.

I thought it would be good because it was a defensive castle and never converted to a luxury chateau. When I told my (new) French girlfriend I was going she seemed underwhelmed. Afterward she asked what I thought? I told her it wasn't worth the time (even free). She then told me she also thought it wasn't worth seeing.

Essentially you enter through a decent gate inside a wall with buildings (old but not ancient) that are now used as storage and office space by at least one government agency (archives?). You can only go in two buildings, the chapel and the keep. The chapel is completely covered with scaffolding. It's fairly tiny and nondescript on the inside - maybe worth a five minute look. The keep looks more impressive from the outside, there are a handful of empty rooms you can view, it would be hard to spend more than 30 minutes there. Finally you can walk toward the back and see a little view from the wall, (you aren't on a rampart, just level ground), not spectacular but worth a minute or two to see. That's about it. I felt like I tried to explore every nook and cranny, including going in the lobby of one of the buildings that isn't open to the public and looking in the gift shop. I was still done in under 45 minutes. I came away completely unimpressed.

I should also mention the ticket seller/gift shop is closed for a couple hours for lunch, so either go early or late. Even with my pass, I needed to check in there.

karen - here is the list for school vacations for Paris:
http://vacances-scolaires.education/academie-paris/

My sister and I went to Chateau de Vincennes in April. I loved it; she was tolerant of how long I wanted to stay. Keep in mind that I like medieval art and history and my interests might differ from "mainstream" interests.

We had Paris Museum Passes and went in for free. I think they have guided tours but they might be in French only.

The buildings have been modified over the centuries. One of my favorite parts of the building was on the ground floor of the keep. In the 18th century they cut a doorway in a wall and installed two big wooden doors which are still there. The room also has the original medieval well.

Thanks everyone. I think it will be non this time. I've been checking the weather for this coming Sunday and it keeps fluctuating between rain and no rain. I guess we will just have to decide what to do when the time comes.

What about going here? The meteo says only light rain, probably won't be all day long. Covered by the PMP and free on Sunday.
http://en.parismuseumpass.com/musee-chateau-de-rambouillet-laiterie-de-la-reine-et-chaumiere-aux-coquillages-59.htm

We visited Rambouillet in the summer of 2015, and it was a mixed bag. The chateau was under construction, and we were only able to visit a very small portion of the building. We were with our French friends, who had made the reservations, and we thought we were going to have an English tour (when you reserve, you can specify, and you do need to have an accompanied tour). It was ridiculous for our family, with one fluent French speaker, one "intermediate level" speaker (me), and three who spoke no French. Our friends tried to quickly and quietly translate at the back of the group, but the guide was speaking so rapidly that we only got bits and pieces of info. When he was asked to please slow down by my French friend, he nodded curtly and continued on at the same "grande vitesse" We looked at each other, laughed, and gave up. The brochure we received with the tour gave minimal info about the rooms we saw.

We toured the grounds on our own that day, and while it was great to be with our friends, the experience was just okay. Small, pretty gardens, scenic waterways, a deserted farm setting...Perhaps you'd have a better experience on a guided tour of the grounds - or not?

We also visited Rambouillet in February a few years earlier, and just drove around the grounds, imagining the summer scene. I wonder if you'd feel it was worth your time in November.

If you haven't explored Chartres in your previous visits, perhaps that would be a good day trip for you?

Laurie

Although not ideal in the winter, I'd note that after a (short) visit to the Chateau de V, the Park Floral is very close, and is a very nice botanical garden. I also noticed a fascinating "empty" monument on the way. It remembers a location where a German monument was torn down by Parisians after two different wars. Now the pedestal is empty.