Visiting Chateau de Vincennes while in Paris
 

Has anyone been to this Chateau? We will be in Paris in March and are interested in visiting.
I have visited a few websites, including
http://en.chateau-vincennes.fr/rubrique.php?ID=1002342

For those who have been, how long does it take on the Metro to get there (say from a hotel near Notre Dame)? How long does it take to see the Chateau? Did you go inside? Finally, is it worth going there if the weather is bad?
Thank you!!

I've never been inside, but it's on Line 1 of the Métro, so it's easy to get to (just follow the direction “Château de Vincennes”). There's an RER station also, slightly further away from the castle.

I'm planning on visiting a French home for lunch in Feb, in Vincennes, I asked on another forum how long it would take by foot from the Marais. They said an hour if I walk briskly. I hope I will do that.

We tried to go last Feb..but did not realize it was some kind of holiday! First , it is not that long a trip on the metro and you exit directly in front of the chateau entrance. There was renovation going on in parts so they were not open and the chapel was closed for a special event! But even with all that it was interesting to walk about and to see the various buildings that are used for government ofices. In March then parc de floral should be beginning to bloom and it's directly outside the furtherst wall.

BTW..in Feb the weather was COLD! but we still enjoyed the few hours we spent there!

Vincennes is an interesting castle with a moat, a drawbridge, a chapel, etc However, its most outstanding feature, the dungeon, is being restored and won't be open to the public until 2007.

I am also going to be in Paris in March and am considering visiting this chateau. Looking at the photos of it on various websites (google image it) it looks wonderful and I'm wondering if it's so easy to get to from central Paris why we don't hear more about it.

Vincennes is easy to get to - the Metro is right near the Chateau. We were out there a few years ago and I swear there were about 10 tourists total !! The average tourist just does not seem to go out that way (which was OK with us :-) ).

According to the itinerary calculator at ratp.fr (try it some time!), the enroute time from Cité to Vincennes is 15 minutes on Ligne 1.

Maybe you don't hear more about it because it is really more like "fortress" than "chateau"..
it is a good visit combined with the Bois de Vincennes/Parc Floral area when the weather is nice.

It takes almost one hour but most of it is closed as long as I remember. It is not like any other chateau in France. Go the wonderful gardens (admission charged)near by if you are going to be in the very end of March. I wouldn't go before mid-April, though. Every time we tried to visit the chapel something is going on there. The last time school kids were visiting so it was closed for visitors like us. I agree with Travelnut it is more like "fortress" not a chateau

We walked through the chateau grounds and just admired the buildings which were under major restoration(last year June)but we were actually heading for the Parc Floral. A newly wed couple were precariously posing for photographs on the ancient walls.
Apart from them there was hardly a person there.

Thanks to all for your comments. Very helpful. I will post again on this thread when we return in late March!
This is for DH who would like to see "a castle." He means the fortress type vs the chateau type. We only have a couple days in Paris and I think Vincennes is our best option.
Thanks again.

I've been there, and I've been inside it. It was of interest to me for its period and historical reasons, but I wouldn't put it as a must-see attraction for most people. There wasn't that much to see, so I suppose I spent an hour or so there. I would not go there if the weather were bad because it's a bit of a walk from the metro stop, and then you can't wlakt around the outside of it well. I guess it depends how bad.

There are some dodgy characters hanging around that metro stop and the area between it and the chateau BTW. Just typical panhandlers, street bums, but they did approach me and some other women who were alone, I saw them.

Tim_and_Liz, your best options is to see Versailles. Take a train and stay all day. Don't forget to dress very warmly, it could be very windy in march