Paris - Day 13

On this day we caught a train out to Versailles to visit Chateau Versailles, the political capitol and seat of the royal court from 1682 until the fateful events of 1789. In that year, revolutionaries massacred the palace guard and dragged Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette back to Paris, where they were ingloriously guillotined.

This place was magnificent and photos can only give some idea of the scale and over the top opulence of the buildings and the expansive gardens.

We started our tour by going through the rooms of Louis XIV, providing a broad overview of the 17th century, the King, his family, and the Court.

This was followed by the State Apartments, the ceremonial apartments of the Kings of France at the heart of the palace and the life of the Court. This included the Hall of Mirrors.

We finished up in the Gallery of Battles, with some 30 huge paintings depicting various historic French battles.

We walked past Latona’s Fountain and Partierre, down the Great Lawn past the gardens and hidden groves to the Grand Canal and then onto the Petit Trianon.

This small palace retreat was originally built for the private use of Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour in 1768, but was given to Marie Antoinette by Louis XVI in 1774 and it became her favourite place.

On the way back though the gardens to the main palace, we stopped at a garden side café for tea and coffee and crepes.Read more