The “sun king” was responsible for turning an ordinary royal hunting lodge into Europe’s grandest court, employing only top architects, designers and craftspeople for his palaces.
He took great pleasure in associating himself directly with Apollo, the Greek sun god, thus leaving an impressive trail of fountains, groves, and hidden messages across Versailles.
The Grand Trianon
The Grand Trianon of Versailles is one of its hidden treasures. This small palace is an ideal retreat from the grandeur and formality of court life; with its neoclassical design and picturesque gardens providing an elegant yet refined destination.
As you stroll through the Grand Trianon, its rooms will reveal their purpose and decor changes with every new occupant – from Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour, all the way through Marie Antoinette who left her own mark on it all.
Louis-Philippe created an expansive lounge by joining two existing rooms to form this room; here his family would relax comfortably on comfortable seating or gaming tables. These paintings represent Mars and Pallas from Roman mythology – echoing his renovation theme of peace and harmony. This feature was seen throughout his renovations: Louis-Philippe constructed the Games Room from existing rooms so his family could use this area.
The Trianon’s peristyle is an exquisite marble-columned space that serves as an intermediary between its luxurious rooms inside and the sprawling grounds beyond. Situated near its entrance, this breathtaking sight makes an unforgettable photo opportunity.
From here, visitors can access the king’s apartments, which were used for entertaining and housing guests. Their interior is beautifully decorated with frescoes, gilded statues and extravagant furnishings; his bed even had a silk quilt featuring Henriette of Bourbon-Sicile as a nod to their marriage.
Mirror Room was one of King George III’s favorite rooms at Grand Trianon and considered his masterpiece, decorated with Venetian masks. Mirrors placed strategically across its surface created an amazing reflection effect from gardens around Grand Trianon to provide stunning visuals.
Be sure to visit The Queen’s Hamlet if you have the time. This charming rural village stands as an eye-opening contrast to the palace and offers visitors an insight into Marie Antoinette’s everyday pleasures; an experience which provides visitors with an emotional glimpse into this tragic monarch who would die during the French Revolution.
The Petit Trianon
The Petit Trianon represented a new wave of French neoclassicism. Louis XV, inspired by Madame de Pompadour’s ideas, began transforming his domain at the end of 1740s, realizing his grandfather’s porcelain Trianon into an elaborate country fantasy with features like an animal menagerie dedicated to farm and barnyard animals as well as decorative buildings such as Temple of Love Belvedere Grotto as well as Normandy-style villages with small farms where visitors could roam freely between gardens.
An impressive structure built to mark this historic event was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, architect to King Louis XIV and completed in 1768; featuring four facades facing each garden area. This construction stands as an outstanding example of how European culture transitioned from Rococo to Greek-influenced Neoclassicism over time.
Louis XV gifted the building to Marie-Antoinette as a wedding gift in 1774, and she immediately undertook an ambitious plan to customize its interiors according to her tastes and create a personal sanctuary that offered comfort, elegance, and playful surroundings.
She was the one who introduced the whimsical and fantastical themes into the Petit Trianon, serving as both her playground and an escape from court life for herself and her close companions. Also here, she developed her unique aesthetic choices and taste for more casual decorating styles that her successors continued.
Today’s tour of the Palace reveals many spaces that were within Queen Marie Antoinette’s private realm, such as her bedroom where she spent her last moments before her execution during the French Revolution.
The boudoir holds an extraordinary collection of Marie-Antoinette’s personal effects, from her original bed that she slept in during her last days to the table and chairs she used during this period as well as curtains and other decor pieces. Also notable is a warming-up room used for food preparation before it was taken up to be served in one of Louis XV’s dining rooms above; Louis had planned on equipping this area with counterweights that would enable tables to be raised straight up from first floor dining but these proved impractical; Louis never installed these plans due to lack of space.
The Palace
Versailles is like entering another world – not only because of its immense size. Louis XIV designed this palace, garden and forest complex to show his power over nature by expanding the palace to accommodate his court, altering surrounding forest areas into parks with geometric designs, creating parks filled with geometric designs in nature; his ultimate goal was domesticating nobility and controlling France from one central palace – something which was achieved quite effectively.
The palace interiors are simply exquisite – and almost always packed with visitors taking selfies to take pictures in the Hall of Mirrors. But it is really the side rooms and royal apartments that show just how extravagant Versailles was; then there are amazing fountains and the vast white-and-gold Throne Room to experience its magic! All together this incredible experience will leave you breathless with new appreciation of Louis XIV’s vision of total monarchy.
As an added benefit, the palace now features contemporary art installations by some of today’s leading artists – such as Jeff Koons, Lee Ufan and Olafur Eliasson – complementing its longstanding mission to foster artistic creation since its opening.
After the French Revolution and the relocation of court to Paris, Versailles became a museum; later that same year it was given its current status by King Louis-Philippe who brought back life into its rooms through commissioning rich collections of paintings, sculptures and furniture seen today.
Spend at least six hours at the palace and gardens for maximum impact, to fully experience their splendor without feeling rushed through or missing anything. Arrive before 10am to beat crowds and take advantage of early admission if part of a tour group that offers it; save time with online ticket purchase; use your Paris Museum Pass to skip security lines but not ticket lines
The Gardens
The Gardens of Versailles are an essential element of the Palace and delight visitors with their lavish designs. Their creation was due to the genius of Andre Le Notre, King’s Gardener who sought to reflect his personality through nature’s control by controlling nature in order to produce perfect symmetry while offering visitors a restful oasis where they could admire his handiwork.
Fountains are one of the Gardens’ most striking features, playing an integral part in both their layout and decoration. Their soothing sounds also serve to relax and refresh visitors as the sound of running water provides sensory pleasure. Furthermore, sculptural ensembles such as Grand Canal and Lake of Swiss Guards extend into Park, providing another impressive example of harmonious cohesion that characterizes this site.
From the east of the palace, take the Great Path and discover the groves – small salons of greenery concealed by leafy palisades that serve as entertainment settings – hidden away along its length. There you will see Ceres [32] and Bacchus [36] Fountains as well as Neptune Fountain with its geometrically pruned yew trees that reflect King’s Majesty.
As soon as you arrive at the fountains, don’t miss the opportunity to admire Andre Le Notre’s Grande Perspective design. By turning away from the Palace and facing away from it instead, this gardener attempted to create an illusion of depth and distance while simultaneously using fountains as symbols of royal power.
After Louis XVI died, the gardens were altered to establish a more naturalistic style, making maintenance simpler and cheaper. Furthermore, thousands of trees were replanted to replace those destroyed by storms or overgrown by vegetation growth – although these changes did not alter Versailles Gardens’ iconic 17th-century water games and Grand Perspective remain undeniably impressive features.