The Sun King's Chateau

Once you have walked through this Chateau of all Chateaus and its glorious gardens, the French Revolution makes a lot more sense. Robespierre and his mates must be congratulated for stopping the destruction of what was once the bastion of Royal Power for the last three Louis of Feudal France. It is an incredible record of  the life, dreams and achievements in the arts, humanities and sciences of a decadent era.

Empty front courtyard of the Palace
 - minutes before the flood of folk.

The centre bust is Louie XIV at 27yrs

Listening and gaping in the Hall of Mirrors
- a waiting room for courtiers to be invited into the presence of the King

Gilded and Painted ceilings and sparkling chandeliers strain the neck.
One guy lay on the floor to photograph and was trod on a couple of times.

Close up of 27 yr old LouieXIV - Sun King

The cleaner carried her equipment in a Harrods bag!
Only the best for Versailles or 'The best of British' is only good enough to serve in France?

The audio guide for the tour of Versailles was informative but to the point without trying to waste time with story telling.  The room just before the Hall of Mirrors had ceiling pictures that recorded all the victories of the Sun King, beginning with his win over Richelieu. Louie XIV, was the young king, who with his new wife wrestled control of the state, with the help of the musketeers, from Cardinal Richelieu who had been styling himself as King.  When inside try to get ahead of tour groups - the staged stopping with half of the group disinterested or worse, walking around with the video camera on while playing games on an i-phone, is very frustrating.

After news from Annette via Nana, we made sure that we were lining up with our Museum Pass 30 min before the Versailles security check point opened. This worked well because it meant we had less people in front of us through the course of the visit and it gave us a whole day in which to visit.  If it is a day that the musical fountains are playing the Museum pass doesn't get you into the gardens but the extra charge was small - however the queues for late visitors are huge for this and the train to get less active folk down to the Grand canal and the holiday houses of the royal family.

We didn't manage to get to Marie-Antoinette's Hamlet at the furthermost point because of check in deadlines that evening. A car entrance at that end of the property would make a second day visit to that end a sensible idea.  The Museum pass got us into the Grand and Petite Trianon. The idea of hiring one of the golf buggies was keenly discussed until we found out that not only did you have to be licensed to drive it but over 24yrs, disappointed girls. The walk through the gardens was worth the effort, lots of modern art installations and the fountains playing for us both up and down (fluky timing!) were wonderful.

View towards the Grand canal

Half way down the garden is an art
installation by Albero Fogorato.

Neptune and his horses?

Walkway connecting two wings of the Grand Trianon.

Bust of Marie Antoinette

More gardens off another wing - looking from here will suffice!

Rowing on the Grand canal where full scale sips reenacted navel battles for royal pleasure.

If you only get to France once in your life, Versailles is a must do for anyone with the slightest interest in the Royal glory days.

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