An Overview of the Palace of Versailles
Originally built as a small hunting lodge in 1624, the Palace of Versaille has undergone significant expansion. French King Louis XIV was in charge of construction and the Palace became the established residence of the aristocracy of France. Indeed, King Louis XIV officially moved the court from Paris to Versaille during the French revolution. Here are some fun facts about Versaille:
- The Palace is approximately 721,206 square feet
- The gardens spread over 30,000 acres with 400 sculptures and 1,400 fountains.
- If the Palace were built today, it would cost roughly $2,000,000,000.00 US dollars
- Everything in the palace and all the materials are French. This includes the most famous room – the hall of mirrors, that was an engineering marvel at the time.
- The 357 mirrors in the Hall of Mirrors was a problem as all mirrors at the time were made in Venice. So. The French had to lure the Venetian mirror makers to France.
- The decision by the French to support the American Revolution was made in a small chamber in Versaille.
- Versaille was so extravagant that no detail was spared. Even the chamber pots were made of silver.
What’s Cool…
So Versaille is an amazing place to visit. It’s so large that it’s almost hard to even conceptualize it. I found gardens to be a real highlight and I enjoyed the free audio guide on my phone. I also personally found the furniture to be my favorite inside the castle. I know that seems weird, but there are only so many old paintings I can look at before they run together and I’ve seen so much of that artwork in my lifetime…
The other fun part for me was the ceilings. I love looking up. And of course, the history. Standing in the room where the French King and his advisors made the decision to intervene in the American Revolution and give the fledging republic a chance against the Mighty British almost made me a bit tearful…
What’s Not So Cool…
The crowds. Watch my vide below and you will get a feel for just how crowded Versaille is. If you come to France for the first time, it’s kinda a must see.
The amount of walking. Yeah. I’m in good shape and exceeding 30,000 steps in a day took its toll. But if you really want to get a feel for the palace and the gardens, be ready to walk.
Tips To Enhance Your Visit To Palace of Versailles.
Here are some tips to help make your visit to Versailles better:
- Bring Your Own lunch and have lunch in the Garden
- The Line Is Long even with your reservation. That long line waiting to get in – its the line you have to wait in as they admit in 30 minute increments. No point getting there early, they won’t let you in. You can enter in your thirty minute window only;
- The audio guide is free on your phone. Download the app while you have wifi
- Because you a use your phone as the audio guide, bring a method to charge/extra battery. You will run through your battery.
- The Garden outside Versaille is beautiful. Plan on an entire day, even maybe extending to day and a half as a book end on your France trip!!
- It’s an hour outside of Paris via train. I walked over 30,000 steps that day to see what I wanted to see and get back to Paris. Be ready to walk. However, you can rent golf carts for the garden but the line was long.
For an In-depth Review:
For a more in-depth review and tour, check out my Youtube video!!! And while you are there please hit the like and subscribe button so you can follow along on my journey and never miss an update on cool things to see or places to go!!!!!