Versailles - Viva la Revolucion

This morning we are headed to Versailles, the Palace built by Louis XIII, as his country residence, and used as a principal residence by his son, Louis XIV, the Sun King.  We take the RER train to Versailles and make our way to the ticket office. We opt for a guided tour and head toward the palace.

Upon approach you are greeted by the gilded gates; surely St. Peter’s could be no more spectacular.  My first thought is “no wonder there was a revolution,” and this is just the exterior!

There are several interconnected buildings.  To the right are the apartments of the King, connected, of course, to the building which houses the mistresses, both official (the favorite) and unofficial.  To the left are the Queen's apartments, connected to the building which houses the children, and next to that, the kitchens.

The interior is grand and vast; our tour was 1 1/2 hours, but we only scratched the surface, viewing the State Apartments, Apartments of the King and Queen, The Royal Chapel, and The Hall of Mirrors.

The Royal Chapel

The Royal Chapel, begun in 1700 and inaugurated in 1710

The State Apartments

Salon d'Hercule

Salon de l'Abondance

Louis XIV as Roman Warrior
Salon de Venus

Ceiling of Salon de Diane


The Hall of Mirrors

The King's Apartments
Prior to Louis the XIV, this room was used for receptions but Louis XIV had his bed chamber moved here after the Hall of Mirrors was constructed.  The court had the right to watch the King retire each evening and rise each morning—Louis believed in a very public life—and he had special windows installed so that the morning sun would fall directly on his bed.


The King's Bed

The Queen's Apartment
The Queen too had to go to bed each evening and rise each morning in public.  The French so hated Marie Antoinette that when they broke into the Palace it was to her rooms they headed first.  It is the door to the right of The Queen's Jewel Chest (below) through which she fled to her husband's (Louis XVI) apartments, where the whole family was captured.


The Queen's Bed

The Queen's Jewelry Chest

Marie Antoinette with Her Children
The Salon du Grand Couvert

The Grand Trianon
After touring the grand palace we take a trolley along the garden to the Grand Trianon where Marie Antoinette took refuge from the public life of court.  For some reason, we were not allowed photos inside the chateau.

The Grand Trianon

Garden of The Grand Trianon

Finally, we walk back toward the palace through the garden—after stopping for a quick glass of wine alongside the grand canal.  There are many “rooms” in the garden and some pretty interesting statues and fountains—the most intriguing being the Bassin de Latone. 


Latona and Her Children

“Daughter of a Titan, loved by Jupiter, she gave birth to two children, Apollo and Diana, in the shade of an olive tree.  One day while she was resting in the land of Caryae she asked some peasants for a drink of water to quench her thrist.  When they derided her she asked Jupiter to avenge the insult and he transformed the insolent peasants into frogs.”

The gardens are truly breathtaking and we wish we had time to explore them fully, but time is short and we need to catch the train back to Paris. 

For more pictures click here.