Château Versailles

With Scott off to the U.S. for a quick business trip, I found myself with a day in Paris to explore on my own. Encouraged by the concierge at our hotel that the Paris Metro was not difficult to negotiate, even for someone with an extremely limited French vocabulary, I set out for the Château Versailles. About an hour later I found myself in front of the beautiful palace created by Louis XIV. I booked a private tour which included the Opera House built for the wedding of Austrian Archduchess Marie Antoinette to Louis XVI. We also saw several other rooms not open to the public including the king's bed chambers and several dining rooms. After our private tour we joined the masses of people pouring into Versailles for the "public" tour. The Château Versailles was Louis XIV monument to absolute monarchy and, as such, he moved his entire government from Paris to Versailles. The Palace remained the centre of political power in France for more than 100 years.The Palace is still used for political purposes on occasion, such as when heads of state are entertained in the Hall of Mirrors. The French government meets in Versailles when they are voting on amendments to the French Constitution.

Entrance gates to Versailles

Statues and detailing along the roof at Versailles.

The Palace of Versailles.

Versailles from the gardens behind it.

Versailles looking across one of the 50 fountains in the gardens.

The gardens at Versailles are just amazing. They cover almost 2000 acres, include 200,000 trees, 50 fountains, and 210,000 flowers, planted annually. There are also countless bronze and marble statues. Within the gardens are the Palaces of Trianon, built to be the recreational residence of Louis XIV and his family, and Marie-Antoinette's Estate. There is also a Grand Canal where you can take out boats. I did not have enough time to see the entire garden, so it will have to wait for another visit. Besides, Scott was not with me, and I know he would really enjoy spending a day just exploring the gardens and taking photos. Sounds like we need a trip back to Paris, doesn't it?!! Anyway, Scott did leave his camera for me and I did try to channel some of his photography skills, and managed to take a few pictures in the gardens!

From the Palace of Versailles (behind me in this photo) to the Grand Canal is 1 km, or just over a half mile.  The path is lined with statues. Everything you can see in this photo is part of the gardens.

There are hundreds of these beautiful flowers planted in the gardens.

Okay. I know Scott does a much better job with flower photos, but I loved this butterfly!

After spending about 5 1/2 hours at Versailles it was time to get back on the train and head to Paris. I still had a few hours left before the shops closed, and the huge Lafayette Department Store was just where I wanted to go. After a quick stop at the hotel to drop off the camera I got back on the Metro and went to do some shopping. The Lafayette store reminds me of Macy's in Herald Square, New York, the old Marshall Field's on State Street in Chicago, and Harrod's in London. Rummaging around the huge store was a fun way to spend my last evening in Paris.