My visit to Versaille Palace and Estate was probably the highlight of my visit to Paris. Accompanied by my swiss friend we were treated to a great tour . I was glad we made a priority booking as i enabled us to skip a queue of upto two hours into the palace. Our guide was very informative and made it a great experience . The section of the palace open to the public was enough to give a great insight into the wealth and power of the french royal family. It was built by King Louis XIV . It was inhabited by three kings(King Louis the XIV, Louis XV and Lousi the XVI) between 1682 and 1789. It compromised of 700 rooms. It had five chapels and array of impressive rooms. The rooms were designed to a remarkable high standard. The marble floors and impeccable paintings on the walls and ceilings gave it an overwhelming affect. Alot of the furniture ornaments had been restored while some was original, alL finished with incredible detail. The Kings bedroom , the chapel and the banquet room all showed off the elegance and lavishness of the kings taste. The hall of mirrors where the throne itself had been place was my personal favourite. We got to visit a battle gallery which was introduced at a later date, depiction all major french battles going back as far as 490AD. It was well worth visiting. If the Palace itself was'nt enough the second part of our tour(the gardens) really confirmed the wealth of the french royalty.
Typical wall art
the chapel
The gardens covered an area of over 200 acres while the estate itself stretched way further. We were to explore freely at our own leisure. The iconic symetric style gardens were enhanced all the more by the the bright sunny day that it was. The grounds possessed a huge number of stunning fountains, sculputures, and its very own canal where some couple enjoyed a gentle row boat trip along it.. As we went past the gardens further into the estate we visited Marie Antoinettes estate( the queens house) . It also had its own stunning gardens with a special building at the end named "The Temple of Love" being the main attraction . We were constantly in awe of the grounds as each corner we turned led us to a new beautiful area. We opted for a picnic style lunch one of a few options available on the estate. We were able to enjoy our baguettes while sitting by the canal and basking in the tranquility and beauty of the place. We had spent 5 hours in versaille at this stage and would of liked to explore further but had other committments, we regretted not getting a bike or buggy at the start as we had not anticipated just how much there was to see.
Not surprising the french people became sick of living in poverty whle being asked to pay more taxes and fund the expensive life that the Royal family lived. The french revolution led to King Louis the XVI being forced and out of versaille in 1789 and later executed. No Royals have live there since. It marked the end of an era. I found great enjoyment visiting such a historic place and seeing just how specatacular it was. I would highly reccommend anybody to visit. Ideally a person would want to give themselves the full day as there is so much to see and the gardens are a lovely place to just relax and pass away time. Had so many more photoes i would of liked to include but decided on my few favourites.
au revoir steemians
