We took the train outside of Paris today to visit the Palace of Versailles.
The palace was originally a modest hunting lodge built by King Louis XIII in 1623. Now it is a Baroque palace and a symbol of royal excess!
Louis XIV, who called himself the Sun King, was the King of France from 1643-1715, having ascended the throne at the age of 4.
Louis wanted to build an awe-inspiring seat of absolute power away from the political unrest of Paris.
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette lived in the Palace of Versailles after their marriage in 1770. They were forced to leave in 1789 by the Revolutionary Parisian mob raid. They were imprisoned in Paris where Marie was found guilty of crimes against the state and guillotined in 1793.
The palace has 2300 rooms, only about 50 are open to the public.
The treaty of Versailles was signed in the hall of mirrors in 1919, ending WWI.
After an overwhelming morning inside the palace rooms, we walked into the town of Versailles and had galettes for lunch.
We spent the afternoon wandering in the impressive palace gardens.
a view of the pools, gardens and groves behind the palace
A parterre is an ornamental garden with paths between the beds.
The pools of the Water Parterre are framed by bronze figures, representing French Rivers – the Loire & Loiret, the Rhone & Saone, the Seine & Marne, The Garonne & Dordogne.
the mother of of Apollo and Artemis
The fountains operate intermittently so the 17th C hydraulic network can be preserved. Due to water constraints, the fountains were never meant to be running at the same time. King Louis would walk from one fountain/grove to another and the staff would turn on the water before he arrived.
After a long day of touring, we found a nice restaurant for dinner and retired for the night.
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