Paris - Day 3 - Versailles

Statue of Louis XIV in front of the Palace

Long day ahead of us today. Making the trip to Versailles and had pre-booked entry tickets for 9:30 am.

We got up early and headed out to the train station for the 30 minute trip to the city of Versailles. Once we arrived we stopped at a patisserie for pastry and coffee. 

Once fortified with coffee we got our bearings and headed toward the huge estate of Versailles.

The golden gate in front of the Palace

Inside the main courtyard.

Versailles, for those who may not know, was the Royal Palace which had grown out from the site of a relatively modest hunting lodge. Louis XIII started the transformation in 1631 and the Palace grew progressively through the reigns of Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI.

The Palace was largely spared during the French Revolution and upon the accession of Louis-Philippe to the throne the Palace was transformed into a museum in 1833.

The estate covers more than 800 hectares (about 1,975 acres. For comparison, Central Park in New York City is  834 acres) and attracts an astounding 10 to 15 million visitors each year.

The chapel.

One of the galleries.

Painting depicting the surrender after the Battle of Yorktown during the American Revolutionary War with the Continental Army and George Washington aided by the Marquis de Lafayette and French army troops.

Another of the galleries.

Touring the building and estate was an incredible experience. The grandeur and beauty of the building and grounds was quite impressive. We spent the better part of the day there, trying to see as much as we could.

A view of the grounds at the rear of the Palace.

Who dat?

In addition to Versailles, we also visited The Grand Trianon, The Petit Trianon (though nothing petite about it) and the Queen’s Hamlet. The Petit Trianon was a gift from Louis XIV to Marie Antoinette. These palaces were built as refuges from the courtly etiquette of the main palace (i.e. someplace they could let their hair down so to speak).

The grounds around the Trianons also held some interesting things such as...

The Temple of Love

A grotto.

This really gnarly Catalpa tree from the U.S.

And this equally gnarly Juniper tree.  Both survived a torrential storm in 1999.

After a full day, we made our way back to Paris for dinner and a well-deserved night of rest.

Salud