Description: The extravagant living and the bourgeois lifestyle of the former French royalty, the glory and luxury that surrounded the former French nobility and high-court officials cannot be manifested better than within the opulent chambers of the Chateau de Versailles, the grandest and most notorious chateau in France. Built in the seventeenth century as a symbol of the military power of France and as a display of French supremacy in Europe, this gigantic complex of palatial buildings, stately gardens and elegant terraces is unquestionably a must-see destination for any visitor who gets enthralled by outstanding rooms, sumptuous decorations, gilded furniture and Renaissance artworks.
Although the word ‘Versailles’ is synonymous with the chateau and its vast adjoining gardens, one has to be aware that Versailles is in actual fact an affluent suburb of Paris, located 20 kilometres southwest of the capital. Having a population of 85 thousand, Versailles is an administrative centre and provides employment for its inhabitants mostly in the service sector. Although the city is surrounded by picturesque countryside and wooded hills, the main attraction is definitely the historical chateau for which the city is renowned. However, a quick look at the grid of symmetrical avenues that run uniformly throughout the city is also recommended. The bourgeois atmosphere and the chic ambience can be felt in every street and at every corner.
From central Paris, the best way to reach the chateau at Versailles is to take the RER C5 line from ‘St Michel Notre Dame’ or ‘Invalides’ towards ‘Versailles Rive Gauche’ station which is only a short stroll from the chateau. ‘Versailles Chantiers’, served by RER C8 is further south, and from this station, one has to walk about 40 minutes to reach the main entrance to the chateau. An alternative option is to take one of the several daily SNCF trains from Montparnasse station in Paris to ‘Versailles Chantiers’.
Once you arrive at ‘Versailles Rive Gauche’ station, walk north along Avenue General de Gaulle for a couple of minutes until you reach Avenue de Paris. A left turn on Avenue de Paris brings you immediately near the Versailles Tourist Office from where you can observe the massive front elevation of the chateau rising from the ground in all its glory some 500 metres further west.
The best way to buy an entry ticket is on line from the chateau’s website. The ticket you print at home provides a worthwhile alternative to staying behind a long queue waiting your turn. Visitors with an entry ticket print-out can proceed immediately to entrance A from where they are guided towards the tour of their choice. One can opt to buy one of four different entry tickets:
1. Known as a ‘passport’, this full ticket costing 18 euro comes complete with a multilingual audio-guide and allows entry to the King’s Grand Apartment, the Queen’s Grand Apartment, the Hall of Mirrors, the Council Room, other important chambers in the palace, the Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon, the Marie-Antoinette Estate and all permanent and temporary exhibitions open on the day of visiting.
2. The ‘palace ticket’ complete with multilingual audio-guide costs 15 euro. This tour of the palace allows entry to the King’s Grand Apartment, the Queen’s Grand Apartment, the Hall of Mirrors, the Council Room, other important chambers in the palace and all permanent and temporary exhibitions open on the day of visiting.
3. The ‘Trianon ticket’ costs 10 euro and allows entry to the Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon and the Marie-Antoinette Estate.
4. The ‘guided-tour ticket’ costs 16 euro and provides visitors with a live commentary and allows entry to the private apartments of Louis XV and Louis XVI, the Royal Opera, the Royal Chapel and all the important chambers in the palace, including the King’s Grand Apartment and the Queen’s Grand Apartment.
The ‘guided-tour ticket’ allows entry to most of the rooms of the palace, some of which can never be visited otherwise. These include the Royal Chapel, a two-storey edifice with baroque and Gothic features that comes complete with a richly ornamented central gallery reserved solely for the king and his family and side galleries reserved for the ladies of the royal court. The extravagant use of marble and gold and the numerous paintings and sculptures that stand here as a symbol of the divine power of the monarchy transform this place of worship into a small but unique museum of classic French art. Equally interesting both for their historical value as well as for the artistic wall coverings and admirable period furniture are the Apartments of the Prince and Princess and the Apartment of the Marquise de Pompadour. History buffs should definitely go for the ‘guided-tour ticket’ since the live commentary accompanying the guided tour is a detailed step-by-step interactive exposition of all the historical aspects that moulded the history of the French royalty in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, particularly in relation to the events and personalities that affected the development of the chateau at Versailles. Three cheers to the expert guide whose words of wisdom made my visit more interesting and appealing than expected.
Visitors with a ‘passport’ or a ‘palace ticket’ have to go around on their own with the help of the audio-guide. It is advisable to reset the three basic functions (volume, language, start tour) of your audio-guide before you take the steps to the first floor from where the tour begins since no help whatsoever is available once you are upstairs.
Your tour starts with the King’s Grand Apartment, a seven-room monument of artistic splendour and a symbol of royal power and authority. The first room you visit is the Hercules drawing-room, a grand salon decorated with a huge painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Veronese. To complete the picture of royal power, another huge composition on the ceiling shows Hercules, a symbol of physical strength, might and absolutism.
The Room of Abundance follows. As the name itself indicates, this room was formerly used as a place for hosting distinguished guests in an atmosphere of lavish amounts of wine and refreshments. The grand table with silver vases and precious artworks on display was used more to impress guests than for anything else.
From here, visitors proceed to the Venus salon, an elegant baroque drawing-room that is heavily ornamented with marble pilasters, colonnaded recesses, intricate mouldings and delightful sculptures. Equally adorned is the Diana salon next door. On looking closely at the painting compositions on the ceiling, one easily concludes that Charles Le Brun who was responsible for all the ornamental works in these rooms, was heavily influenced by famous Italian artists of the Renaissance. Note the figure of Venus on the ceiling of the Venus salon, characterized by the ‘sfumato’ style prevalent in Italy in the seventeenth century.
The four other similarly ornamented drawing-rooms that follow contain ostentatious displays of magnificent wall coverings, marble statues, intricately carved window frameworks and scores of paintings. Of special interest is the Mercury salon, a small drawing-room that for several years served as the bedchamber of Louis XIV, the king whose reign was one of the longest in history. While going around the Apollo salon, don’t miss the allegorical painting by Charles de la Fosse in the western cove, a glorious mythological picture that depicts the building of the port at Misenum.
After a tour of the Kings’ Grand Apartment, visitors step inside the Hall of Mirrors, an extravagant showcase of gigantic proportions that occupies the western façade of the chateau and looks out onto the magnificent Versailles gardens. The sumptuous gilded arched ceiling painted by Charles Le Brun depicts a series of thirty artistic compositions that illustrate the glorious historic war victories of Louis XIV. Rows of crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling while rows of gilded statues standing on pedestals hold lanterns to enhance the beauty of the marble pilasters behind. Hundreds of mirrors that reflect this abundance of light fill in the arched wall opposite the windows, adding to the splendour of the place.
An open arch in the Hall of Mirrors gives access to the Council Room, adjacent to which one finds the King’s private bedchamber. The opulent décor of the gilded balustrade that separates the bed alcove from the rest of the chamber stands out for its magnificent gold and silver drapery on a contrasting crimson background.
The last section of your visit takes you to the Queen’s Grand Apartment. Of particular historical importance is the queen’s bedchamber where most of the items and furniture you see were either recovered after the French Revolution or else reproduced later since the originals were stolen or sold in auctions.
The stairs from here take you to the souvenir shop on the ground floor. The items for sale range from books about the palace to bronze busts of Louis XIV, from wall posters in carton tubes to T-shirts with the words: ‘J’aime Versailles’ or ‘Le Grand Versailles’.
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