At a time when castles and museums are once again opening their doors, what better time to discover this incredible castle, one of the most famous monuments in the world? This masterpiece was created by Louis XIV, the illustrious park designed by Le Nôtre, the Grand and Petit Trianon, Marie-Antoinette's estate... Versailles is more than a castle, it is a fascinating complex, in the heart of the Yvelines, which preserves the history of France under the aegis of UNESCO

In Versailles, meet the Sun King..

Here you are in front of the castle, it is imposing! To think that it was only a simple hunting lodge lost in the countryside! But His Majesty spent nearly 81 million pounds to build Versailles to the height of his ego. He lived there for fifty-three years; when you visit Versailles, you enter the intimacy of the Sun King... You walk through his Grands and Petits Appartements, you pass through numerous salons, each more sumptuous than the last. We enter his bedroom, dazzling with gilding, where the royal bed stands in the centre, dressed in heavy woven brocade. White and paved with marble mosaics, the Royal Chapel is bright enough for us to see the many sculptures. The Opera House is a jewel of gilded woodwork whose acoustics are said to be better than that of the Opéra-Bastille

But if there was only one room to see, it would be the Hall of Mirrors, a masterpiece 73 m long and 12.30 m high under the ceiling. Seventeen arcades decorated with mirrors reflect as many windows open onto the garden, inviting the light to reveal the smallest details of the ceilings: the meticulousness and perfection of the work are hardly to be believed. Also known as the "Salle des Pas Perdus", it was the scene of major political events such as the coronation of Napoleon I by Pope Pius VII and the signing of the peace treaty of the First World War. All these events reinforced its aura.

... and the women in his life in the Trianon castles

The Grand Trianon was born from the king's desire to escape from royal obligations! Designed as a French-style hotel, between the courtyard and the garden, this small palace is a delicate holiday resort. The left wing is bordered by the Cour des Offices, the right wing protects the King's garden.

The north wing is extended by the Trianon-sous-Bois, reserved for the head of state since Charles de Gaulle. The Petit Trianon was built by the architect Gabriel for Mme de Pompadour, then offered to Marie-Antoinette by Louis XVI as a wedding present... the Petit Trianon is a woman's affair! The sobriety of the building contrasts with the exceptionally elegant woodwork. The beginnings of neoclassicism can be detected. Marie-Antoinette liked to retire behind the sliding glass installed in front of the windows of the boudoir; whatever the women before her, the Petit Trianon, like the hamlet that surrounds it, will forever remain her home.

Marie-Antoinette's estate

Thanks to the new digital tools, it is Marie-Antoinette herself who guides you on your tour! Marie-Antoinette's estate is organized around the Petit Trianon surrounded by the English garden, a miniaturization of nature where a succession of scenes, paintings and panoramas appear. The landscape is dotted with elegant buildings: the Belvedere, the Temple of Love, the French Pavilion, the Fresh Pavilion, the Swiss House, the Queen's Hamlet, and the Petit Théâtre. The latter is a pure marvel with its sculpted pasteboard sets, its silk taffeta curtain embroidered with gold and its vast stage larger than the hall. The queen herself was acting. The Belvedere pavilion appears as a graceful little octagonal building decorated with exterior bas-reliefs in a landscape dominated by a monumental rock from which an artificial waterfall springs. Not far away appears the Temple of Love, a small white marble rotunda evoking Antiquity, with its twelve Corinthian columns. In this intimate tour, the Queen's hamlet surprises by its simplicity in contrast to the pomp of the court. It is a small country village with thatched cottages surrounded by vegetable gardens, a pond, a mill, a dovecote, a farm and a dairy. An idyllic setting in which Marie-Antoinette could freely dream of her native Austria and play her country game against a backdrop of flowering groves, bouncing streams, fields of rye, wheat and charming orchards.

The park of the Château de Versailles, thehe masterpiece of Le Nôtre

The park of the château is composed of three distinct parts: the gardens, the groves and the forest.

To grasp the masterly work of André Le Nôtre, the king's first gardener, go to the terrace below the Hall of Mirrors: it's impressive! Here again, imagine that before him there were only woods, marshes and meadows... Le Nôtre orchestrated a monumental picture here, a veritable plant fairy tale that blends ponds, groves and canals along star-shaped paths, dotted with hundreds of sculptures. Versailles is the ambassador of the so-called "French garden" with a general geometric layout ordered from a main axis that extends its perspective towards infinity between the hedge of tall poplars. Water was brought from the Seine to feed the Grand Canal in the centre of the garden. At its head, the buildings of the Little Venice remind us that the gondolas and galleys of the flotilla were used for concerts and nautical festivals.

Below the castle, an orangery is buried under the parterre du Midi, protected from the winter cold but not from the light. A central vaulted gallery, framed by vast passageways, preserves, on all sides, orange trees, lemon trees, pomegranate trees (some are over 200 years old), oleanders, palm trees and even a tomato tree! Deserted by the citrus trees in summer, which quietly turn golden, it exhales delicate acidulous fragrances. Not far from the orangery is the King's vegetable garden, which provided exceptional fruit and vegetables in all seasons.

The Sun King demanded the most incredible ballet of fountains, thus piquing the creativity of his time to accomplish his will. Landscapers, composers, sculptors and choreographers combined their know-how to create a unique show that required titanic means for the time, developed by cutting edge technology. The garden and its 32 basins use 30 km of pipes... And the curious will be delighted to discover these artistic and technical masterpieces to the sound of baroque music during the Grandes Eaux Musicales, every weekend from 22 May to 31 October 2021. Unique!

Useful information

When is it open? All year round. But spring and autumn are the best times to enjoy the gardens. To enjoy the "Grandes Eaux Musicales", go every Saturday and Sunday from 22 May to 31 October 2021.

How to get there. From Paris, take the RER line C (towards Versailles-left-rive-château), from the Montparnasse station the SNCF train to Versailles-Chantiers, from the Saint-Lazare station the SNCF train to Versailles-rive-droite.

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