Vaux le Vicomte or Chantilly

Vaux le Vicomte was of course the inspiration for Versailles. Louis XIV imprisoned his finance minister, its creator, some say out of jealousy. It's intimate yet lavish scale makes it easy to enjoy, creating an instant impact. The gardens are divine. I have only driven past Chantilly so can't compare in terms of interiors, but for me, without hesitation, I would choose Vaux le Vicomte.

I have been to both and it is Vaux le Vicomte hands down. Chantilly is also worth a visit as is Senlis a medieval town nearby. Here is our trip to Vaux le Vicomte:

https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/vaux-le-vicomte-our-last-chateau/

I agree with Janet, Vaux le Vicomte is by far my favorite of the two. Vaux and the grounds are amazing. They also have a wonderful cafe and gift shop.

Vaux-le-Vicomte is not easily accessible by public transport - pretty much your only options are a taxi or expensive shuttle bus from Melun station, or an organised tour.

You might be thinking of Fontainebleau, which is in the same direction from Paris but easily accessible by public transport.

The interior of Chantilly is a museum with some excellent works but not terribly pedagogic. You can only walk the gardens. It's a hike from the train station. Vaux is recreated and pedagogic, the gardens by Le Notre, and you can rent a golf cart to visit them. Vaux would be my choice.

Thank you all for the responses. It seems that Vaux le Vicomte will be our choice. Both apparently involve taxi or shuttle or walk from their respective train stations, but your recommendations for V le V will clinch the deal for us. BTW, I have since come across beyond-Paris.com which, while not terribly comprehensive, does offer some good information. Apparently the bus ticket for V le V also includes the opportunity to visit Blandy les tours which will also increase our bang for the buck factor. Thanks again to all who replied!

Vaux and Fontainebleau are both easily accessible by getting the CityVisions buses, there's an option where they only provide the transportation, and efficient it is. It's DIY once you get to each location.
Perfect, easy, and you see two of the big close-in-to-Paris chateaux in one day.
It's surprising that more people on this website don't know about this easy way of getting transportation to these two places.

Kent, I assume you have a specific amount of time at each if going with CityVisions and that would be the only reason I wouldnt go with them. I don't like my time limited. We've been to Vaux twice and getting a taxi there (we shared with another couple going) was super easy.
We also loved Fontainebleau, but I still like Vaux better if I only have time for one.

Susan,
You're correct, with CityVisions you have 3 hours on the ground at Vaux and 3 hours at Fontainebleau. The transportation time from Central Paris to Vaux is about 45 minutes, then 3 hours at Vaux, then about 15 minutes from Vaux to Fontainebleau, then 3 hours at Fontainebleau, then about 1 hr 15 mins back to central Paris (because of traffic in the later afternoon).
The 3 hours of walking around in each chateau was plenty for us, since there were no lines at either location.

Hi Kent, I think your good tip on CityVisions is a great option for a lot of people.