Sightseeing Versailles

A palace fit for a king

In 1623, Louis XIII ordered the construction, at Versailles, of "a small country chateau, for hunting purposes". From 1661 to 1668 his son, Louis XIV, asked the architect Louis Le Vau to make the residence larger and more beautiful. But "the little house of cards", as it had been described by contemporary writer Saint-Simon, did not have the potential for grand expansion. Le Vau finally solved the problem in 1668 and over the next two years encircled the original chateau with a secondary building. On the king's orders, Le Nôtre took charge of the gardens.
As of May 6th, 1682, Versailles became the main residence of the French court, the setting for sumptuous entertainments, and the seat of power. The Hall of Mirrors evokes the immense grandeur of Louis, the "Sun King". Louis chose this symbol to indicate his similarity to Apollo, the Greek sun god, patron of the arts and of peace. Apollo is also associated with themes involving statues and fountains. The nearby Trianon residence served as a getaway for the king to relax with his family. This was the known as the "Porcelain Trianon" on account of the blue and white ceramics on the walls.
By 1687 the building was no longer to the king's taste, and so Hardouin-Mansart built him a "little marble palace with delightful gardens". The Hall of Mirrors and the King's Chambres are the two most visited places, along with the gardens of course.
In 2004, thanks to the American Friends of Versailles association, the Bosquet of the Three Fountains, the sole grove mentioned in the king's original plan, was renovated after several years of work. Envisioned by Le Nôtre between 1677 and 1679, it was named after the three basins and three successive terraces connected by stone paths. After over two centuries of neglect, the Bosquet is once again a main feature in the gardens of the chateau.

See also: La Petite Venise - Grande Île - Chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle - Beffrois de Belgique et de France - Golfe de Porto - Abbatiale de Saint-Savin - Val de Loire - Juridiction de Saint-Emilion - Mont Perdu - Rives de la Seine - Abbaye cistercienne de Fontenay  - Sites préhistoriques et grottes ornées de la vallée de la Vézère - Basilique Sainte Marie-Madeleine - Le Mont Saint-Michel - En ville à Provins - Le Pont du Gard - Saline Royale - En ville à Arles - La Cité Médiévale - Château de Carcassonne - En ville au Havre - Théâtre Antique d'Orange - En ville à Bordeaux - Cathédrale de Chartres - Place Stanislas - Cathédrale Saint Etienne - Vieux Lyon - Château et Parc de Fontainebleau  - Canal du Midi - Le Potager du Roi - Palais du Tau  - Abbaye Saint-Remi - Cathédrale Notre Dame de Reims - Palais des Papes - Pont St Bénezet - Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens

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