Château de Versailles – France’s most iconic and extravagant palace – does not need an introduction. With nearly six million visitors each year, its fame is hard to overlook. The grandiose estate was built in the mid-17th century for Louis XIV – the Ruler of the French Empire.
About 22 kilometers south-west of central Paris, you will find yourself at the opulent gate of the Château de Versailles. Louis XIV, claimed as Le Roi Soleil (the Sun King), ordered to built this baroque château to demonstrate the absolute power of the French monarchy, which was at its height at the time. After its completion in 1682, the palace became the empire’s political capital and the seat of the royal court. Its role only faded when the French Revolution broke out in 1789.
Spreading over 63,000 m², the château contains about 2300 luxuriously decorated rooms and it required about 30,000 workers to complete. The most noteworthy chambers are the King’s State Apartments, the Royal Chapel, the Royal Opera House, and the opulence reaches its peak in the Hall of Mirror.
Gardens of Versailles
The Versailles is surrounded by vast gardens covering some 800 hectares of land. Praised as the art of symmetry, the manicured garden is the masterpiece of landscape artist Andre Lé Nôtre in which terraces, flowerbeds, statues, tree-lined paths, ponds, and fountains are geometrically aligned.
Estate of Trianon
A trip to Versailles might be incomplete without a visit to the Estate of Trianon. In an attempt to gain some brief respite from the rigid etiquette of the court, the kings of Versailles built themselves more intimate spaces close to the main palace. The Estate of Trianon is the home of the Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon, and the Queen’s Hamlet.
The estate is also called Domaine de Marie Antoinette because it is most closely associated with Queen Marie Antonette. Having trouble with adapting to life in court, the Queen retreated to Petite Trianon which she received as a gift from King Louis XVI. The estate was then become her own kingdom.
Tips for visiting Versailles
- Versailles is easily accessible from Paris by public transport. RER B – Station: Versailles Château – Rive Gauche.
- A visit to Versailles requires patience. The crowd will reach its peak at noon resulting hours of waiting. Having a pre-purchase ticket only help you skip the queue at the ticket booth but it does not grant you immediate access to the palace.
- Monday is closed. Tuesday, Sunday, as well as holidays, are the busiest days.
- Some chambers, for example, the Royal Chapel, the Private Apartments of the Kings are only accessible when you join a guided tour. The tour takes around 90 minutes and costs 7€.
- The estate of Trianon is located in the north-west of the palace garden. Just head straight to the Grand Canal, then turn right at Allée de la Reine. There are many signposts en route, thus it is not difficult to find.
Beautiful photos, Len! However did you catch the royal chapel empty?
Yes, it was completely empty! Although the room is only accessible for guided tours, you can still take a glimpse of it. Just need a little patience 🙂
I was wondering that I did not get to see it. I racked my brains and realised I had not booked a guided tour. Everywhere else in that place is bloody crowded except for the Petit Trianon.
Oh yes we think the palace is fabulous!
It was perhaps the inspiration for many another European monarch to emulate!
Absolutely! A typical example is the Sanssouci in Potsdam. It is said that the King of Prussia was inspired by Versailles, so he built a similar palace for himself with gardens, fountains, statues etc.
Then Louis XIV achieved his aim!
Gorgeous, Len! I was in Versailles once, but it was winder so nothing was as lush and colorful as in your photos. I definitely need to revisit Paris and the surrounds in summer, totally different scenes. <3
I think you might consider visit the garden at night as well because there are water light shows and beautiful firework displays (on several days) during summer 🙂
Will bear that in mind!
My stay in Paris was far too short so I didn’t have enough time to visit the Versailles. Thanks for the practicalities, I need to pay attention to the busy days for the palace. By the way, I just came back from your home country. It was my second time to Vietnam and this time I went to Da Nang, Hue, Hoi An and My Son. Loved everything about these places!
I am happy to hear that! How long was you there? Did you make a vacation there or doing some research for the Spice Odyssey? I know Hoi An used to be an important port, but I don’t know whether it has anything to do with trading spice or not. I visited Hoi An when I was a kid, so I could not remember any historic details 🙂 Well, can’t wait to see your pictures of those cities!
I was in the region for eight days. It was only for vacation though. I went to Saigon six years ago, and since then I had been dreaming to go back to Vietnam to see its Cham ruins and old cities. So this trip has nothing to do with the Spice Odyssey — not directly. There will be five more posts from the Spice Odyssey series, and after that I’ll start writing about places I went to in the past year — Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong and some places in Indonesia.
Thanks for the virtual tour of Versailles! 🙂 The one time I was in Paris, I didn’t go there because it was too far and it was too cold (December) hehe. It does look impressive though! What a beautiful day as well.
You welcome, Pooja! It was indeed a beautiful day. But it had a side effect: the crowd 🙁 We came at around 10:00 but there was already a long queue.
Looks amazing. Canberra just had an exhibition of treasures from Versailles. First time ever. It was wonderful to see some of the beautiful items.
Cool! What did they display there, like crowns, jewels, etc? 🙂 Thinking about it, I did not see such items at Versailles, just some sculptures, paintings and a golden carriage.
There were chairs, paintings, a bird cage, some sculptures and one of the chandeliers.
Wow, your photos are so bright and beautiful. The Royal Chapel looks so grand.
We found Versailles to be beautiful. We did not have enough time to get to see everything, but were amazed by what we did see. Lovely captures! 🙂
Many thanks! I found Versailles amazing too. Did you have the chance to take a stroll in the garden? It must be lovely in spring 🙂
We did stroll around the gardens. The Queen’s hamlet was my biggest interest and we made the trek there. Unfortunately, her house is undergoing renovations, but the rest of the area was lovely!
Beautiful images of one of my favourite palaces!
Thank you 🙂
This palace is well worth the visit. I have been there three times and enjoyed the venue each time.
It is surely amazing! I was surprised by how beautiful the castle is. The surrounding lake is also worth visiting, especially on a sunny day 🙂
Beautiful pictures as always Len. I was about to say it looks very similar to the palaces in Potsdam, Germany then I saw some reader mentioning it. The garden spans acres and they are marvelous.
The palace in Vienna Schönbrunn Palace has the same sunny tinge to it.
Thanks Megha! 🙂 You are right both gardens share similarities. If I remember correctly, the architects who designed Schönbrunn and Sansoucci were inspired by Versailles.
Oh really..See you gave me one more travel trivia.
Beautiful images and very informative notes…
It’s a huge effort in preparing the notes in two languages.
Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
You’re welcome 😀