This is a great experience because you can see why the people revolted against all the money being spent by the royal court. There are many tours that you can go on, but the grand apartments and the gardens are a must. One can spend a full day at the chateau.

If you go to Paris, this is a "must see". Versailles is situated several kilometres outside Paris and it's easy to get there by public transport. The palace itself is huge and impressive as all similar buildings of its time. At the time of Louis XIII, it was only a modest hunting lodge. The creation of the great castle was due to Louis XIV who abandoned the Louvre to build a royal palace. The formal gardens are a must and are particularly beautiful in late spring.

Wonderful palace with gardens, huge rooms, and artwork. Very little furniture since most of the furniture was taken during the French Revolution, but architecture for the period is magnificant. Take a guided tour to get background information on the various royal families that used the palace as a retreat from the heart of Paris.

A must see. Step back into history to see how the aristocracy lived. This ia a nice tour, with an audio player that tells you about each room. The audio describes what is in each room, how it was used and gives you a history of what occurred there.

Don't forget to look up as many rooms have gilded or painted ceilings. My wife and I enjoyed the Hall of Mirrors and promenaded down the middle of it, hand-in-hand. The furniture and walls of Versailles were very ornate. I am not into antiques, but the furniture here was quite impressive.

The gardens must be quite a sight in the spring and summer. Unfortunately, we were there in the late afternoon on a cold November day. The gardens are big enough that we quickly lost site of the house due to the fog. There was a horse and carriage for those who want a guided drive through the gardens. It was too late and too cold for us, but would make a nice romantic ride at another time.

We had rented a car and stopped off at Versailles on our way back from Normandy. If you plan to drive back to Paris, be advised that there are few road signs that say Paris. In fact, we saw none. Get a better roadmap than we had (all of France). It was rush hour when we left, and we got bogged down in traffic, not knowing which way to go. Luckily, I had my handheld GPS so I could at least tell when we were going the wrong way (most of the time). We hit several small towns before we found the A13 again. It took about 90 minutes to cover the 12 1/2 miles to Paris.

I recommend you get to Versailles early and either take the train for Paris or leave early enough to beat rush hour traffic.

Louis VIX started the process of turning this hunting lodge into the present palace in 1668, and Louis VX finished the process and moved there in 1722. The palace tour takes you through the king’s and queen’s apartments -- with gold-leafing and marble inlays that make mere opulence seem ordinary. Feathers adorn the top of the queen’s bed, in the bedchamber where she gave birth in public view (now that sounds like fun, huh?) and the walls are covered in velvety fabrics. Almost all of what we saw was a reproduction – after the French revolution most of the palace was looted, but you couldn’t have proven it by me.

After rooms and rooms of decadence – most looking out onto the gardens -- the tour ends with a stroll through the Hall of Mirrors. The Treaty of Versailles was ratified ending WWI in this 233-foot hallway, which is adorned with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, reflected in the mirrored walls. The information pamphlet says that the king would walk through the Hall of Mirrors each day on his way to the Chapel, and was also the passageway between the king’s and queen’s apartments. The hall was also used for receptions and parties.

After touring the palace, we paid another 6 € to walk through the gardens of Versailles. The gardens feature geometric paths that take you down to the man-made lake – where you can rent a canoe and row the day away. Fountains adorn the gardens as well, but only "run" at certain times during the day. We were too late for the fountain show at noon, and we couldn’t stay until the 3:30 show. Regardless, the fountains were beautiful – one such fountain is the Fountain of Latona, with four marble basins that rise to the goddess Latona.

Underneath the gardens is a giant greenhouse where trees and shrubs that aren’t native to the area are grown. After all, if the king wants palm trees, you’ve got to give him palm trees, right? In between all these trees and shrubs, on either side of the garden, there is a café/watering hole with free restrooms. The ice cream was a cool treat on a hot day.

Our museum pass and our metro pass came in handy here. The half hour ride on the RER train was covered by our metro pass, and our museum pass got us in. Otherwise, admission to the palace is 7.45 €, with slightly reduced rates after 3:30pm. Versailles is closed on Mondays.

We really enjoyed our side trip to Versailles, and if you have the time, I’d definitely recommend spending some time there.