Palace of Versailles

Versailles was definitely one of the most amazing places I’ve ever seen, and the most absolutely ludicrous display of wealth imaginable. I said the Louvre made the Spanish palacio real look like a dollhouse, but Versailles does the same thing to the Louvre. The palace is amazing in itself, and Lexi and I spent a good few hours exploring it. The highlight in there was the hall of mirrors, which was not only beautiful and ornate room but also one of incredible historical significance, as many important treaties were signed there: the treaty of Paris ending the American revolution, the 1871 treaty of Versailles ending the Franco-Prussian war (and marking the beginning of the German empire), and the 1919 treaty of Versailles ending WW1 were all signed in that room. The palace was the home of the Kings Louis 14-16 (and their families and servants with an estimated 10,000 living on the grounds at once) until the family was driven out by the French Revolution, and later was also used by Napoleon Bonaparte. The really incredible part, though, was the palacial gardens. They are just unimaginably expansive, yet covered with ornate statues, fountains, and hedges that are still perfectly - and I mean PERFECTLY - manicured. Seriously, I would estimate that several thousand gardeners must still work there today to keep the grounds looking the way they are. The grounds we also home to some additional homes that the royal family would spend time relaxing in, as well as a series of cottages that Marie Antoinette had built because she liked to pretend she was a peasant (and she clearly had no clue what that word meant). Lexi and I were literally at this palace for over 8 hours, and even taking a bike rental and using their shuttle, we only were able to see a fraction of the grounds of the palace. It is really unbelievable to think that a family used to actually live there.Read more