Versailles

The palace and the Hall of Mirrors

Home to the kings of France from Louis XIV to Louis XVI, the Palace of Versailles remains one of the most visited monuments in France, with several million visitors every year. Built from 1661 on Louis XIV's orders to assert the power of the French monarchy, it has some 2,300 rooms spread over more than 63,000 square metres.

The Hall of Mirrors, 73 metres long and lit by 357 mirrors facing the 17 windows overlooking the gardens, is the highlight of the visit for most travellers. It was in this very gallery that the treaty ending the First World War was signed in 1919, adding a further historical dimension to a place already rich in symbolism.

The King's and Queen's State Apartments, the King's Bedchamber where the rising and retiring ceremonies took place before the court, and the Royal Chapel dedicated to Saint Louis complete a visit that usually takes two to three hours, depending on the crowds and your preferred pace.

Booking an entry slot in advance is recommended in high season, particularly for the Hall of Mirrors, where crowds can mean a long wait without priority access.

The formal French gardens

Designed by André Le Nôtre from 1661, the gardens of Versailles cover more than 800 hectares, around a hundred of which are given over to the parterres, groves and fountains closest to the palace. This masterpiece of French formal garden design took more than forty years to complete and employed several thousand workers at its peak.

The Water Parterre, directly below the windows of the Hall of Mirrors, the Latona Fountain depicting Apollo's mother turning her attackers into frogs, and the 1.6-kilometre Grand Canal are the most iconic sights, each adorned with statues and sculptures commissioned from the greatest artists of the age.

The Musical Fountains Shows, held at weekends from spring to autumn, bring the fountains to life to a programme of Baroque music performed by specialist ensembles. It is a spectacle worth planning your day around, as the fountain times are set in advance by the estate and published on its official website.

Beyond the grand vistas, the quieter Colonnade Grove and the King's Garden offer a more intimate interlude for visitors who want to step away from the main avenues.

The Trianon Estate and the Queen's Hamlet

The Grand Trianon, built for Louis XIV as a retreat from the heavy etiquette of the court, stands out for its low pink marble architecture, designed to blend harmoniously into its green setting rather than dominate the landscape like the main palace.

The Petit Trianon, Marie Antoinette's favourite residence, given to her by Louis XVI, is a good walk from the main palace, in the north-west of the park, and its neoclassical style is far more restrained than the Baroque splendour of the central palace.

The Queen's Hamlet, a miniature Norman-style village built for Marie Antoinette in the late eighteenth century, with its farm, mill and dairy, offers a picturesque contrast with the grandeur of the main palace and attracts a growing share of visitors looking for a more intimate, less crowded experience.

The distance between the main palace and the Trianon Estate, about 1.5 kilometres, can be covered on foot or by the little tourist train, depending on your time and how much you feel like walking.

Planning your day with a chauffeur

The drive from Paris takes around thirty minutes via the A13 motorway or the road to Versailles, depending on your exact starting point. Traffic usually flows well, except on busy summer weekends when tourist crowds can cause some slowdowns right around the palace.

Half a day is usually enough for the palace and part of the gardens; a full day lets you add the Trianon Estate and the Queen's Hamlet without rushing, with a leisurely lunch break between the two parts of the programme, at whatever pace suits you.

Your chauffeur drops you as close to the entrance as possible, ideally right by the Gate of Honour on the Place d'Armes side, and waits for the whole visit rather than having to be called back at an uncertain time at the end.

This service is booked for a minimum of 5 hours, at an hourly rate set by the vehicle you choose, with no unpleasant surprises on the final price when you return.

For an even fuller programme, Versailles combines easily with a stop in Giverny or the Loire Valley on the same multi-day trip, depending on the time you have.