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The Palace of Versailles (Château de Versailles)
(Versailles, Ile-de-France, France, FR)



Often referred to as the Royal Château, the Palace of Versailles is the reason that people regularly visit this city and regularly travel the short distance from Paris. The palace itself is a spectacular building, surrounded by beautiful gardens and a number of additional historical structures and smaller palaces.

Constructed in the middle of the 17th century for King Louis XIV (the Sun King), on the site of a small and simple hunting lodge originally built by his father, the Palace of Versailles displayed the wealth and importance of the French monarchy of that time. In total, building the château took a team of some 30,000 workers and soldiers, who toiled on this masterpiece for several years, the cost of which almost bankrupted the royal family.




Versailles Tourist Attractions: Palace of Versailles (Château de Versailles) - Place d'Armes, Versailles, FR-78000, France, FR
Tel: +33 01 3083 7788
There are so many spectacular attractions at the palace that you could easily spend several days here and yet still not see everything. Inside, each of the rooms is decorated with great flair and to many will appear rather ostentatious. The ceiling paintings are exquisite and the fountains quite extraordinary, although only some of the original 1,400 fountains are currently restored and in full working order.

Today, the Palace of Versailles is a museum celebrating the history of France and regularly hosts a number of important government functions. Many special events and concerts are also often held within the palace grounds.

In its heyday, it is said that the enormous banquets held here required a kitchen staff of anything up to 2,000 people. Although not all of its 700 rooms are open, the public are able to explore those with the most significance. Particular highlights at the Palace of Versailles include the:

• Hall of Mirrors (Galerie des Glaces) - an enormous ballroom measuring more than 60 metres / 200 feet in length, with no less than 17 giant mirrors lining one side, to both reflect the frescoes on the ceiling and to allow guests to admire themselves, the surroundings and the outside gardens as the danced around the room
• Grand Appartements (State Apartments) - these are nothing short of a lavish showpiece and contain a number of priceless paintings and treasures. The most grand of the apartments is the Grand Appartement du Roi (King's Suite), where opulent rooms are dedicated entirely to Greek gods, such as Mercury, Hercules and Venus. The Salon d’Apollon is particularly impressive and although intended to be the king's very own bed chamber, soon became the official Palace of Versailles 'Throne Room'
• Clock Room - most famous for being the room where a young Mozart once performed at the tender age of just seven

• Opera House - a large oval-shaped theatre, where the French monarchy and their guests once watched many a performance. The opera house was illuminated by thousands of candles
• Chapel Royal - a colourful chapel decorated in a mixture of white and gold, this is where King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were married in 1770

Palace of Versailles open: Tuesday to Sunday, April to October - 09:00 to 18:30; November to March - 09:00 to 17:30
Palace of Versailles admission: charge, discounts for children

 
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