The pomp and circumstance of Versailles still stands in all its glory. It was the unofficial capital of France for over one hundred years. It is here that the monarchy started to fall. The city of Versailles was built in glorious splendor with no expense spared showing the vast differences between the Court and the people of France. Today you can still see how the court and monarchy once lived, and that they lived, offering a unique peak into the France of long ago. Ultimate Excursions Travel invites you to come with us as we take a closer look at this amazing city and what is has to offer you.
Versailles is just a hop, skip and a jump from Paris, just a mere 10 miles from the city center. In a time when you traveled by horse and buggy, the distance would likely have seemed much more. This picturesque town is surrounded by wooded hills and forests. This is a stunning backdrop for the major attraction of the ornate palace. Louis XIV transformed his father’s mere hunting lodge into the Chateau de Versailles. The former man’s getaway was renovated with resplendency. The palace had 700 rooms, the majority of which had real gold gilded cornices and frescoed ceilings throughout. Add to that the famous Hall of Mirrors, the ostentatious King’s Grand Chambers, and for when Marie Antoinette needed to get away from the main palace she had her own famous estate for relaxing from it all and just being a girl playing at provincial life.
If the palace wasn’t extravagant enough you just have to step outside to be treated to one of the most stunning examples of a French formal garden. The only things you will sneeze at in the Versailles Chateau Gardens are the flowers. Set to the west of the palace the gardens stretch out for nearly 2,000 acres. Filled with beautiful terraces, you can stroll through tree lined paths that line the geometric design. There are 50 fountains located throughout that are meant as the main focal pints. They are turned on from late spring until early autumn. The garden is meant to surprise and delight and that is what it will do every step of your way.
There is a lot to see as you explore Versailles and you can easily spend the whole day here, if not making it it’s very own destination. You can see where one of the most famed queens lived, and know that this is where the French Revolution started. To see the vast difference of how the aristocracy and the court lived and how that is still so glaringly obvious a few hundred years later, but how glorious it was.
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