One of the biggest attractions in France, here's how to get to Versailles and everything you need to know before visiting the most famous castle in the world.
Legend has it that the domain of Versailles it was created out of Louis XIV's envy of the aristocrat Nicolas Fouquet, former superintendent of finance and Attorney General of the Parlement of Paris in the XNUMXth century. Fouquet owned the most beautiful castle in France until then: the Vaux-le-Vicomte, which was also where the famous “French garden” immortalized by André Lenôtre originated.
Influenced by Colbert, his finance minister who saw Fouquet as a competitor, Louis XIV decided to arrest and confiscate his rival's assets (legend also says that Nicolas Fouquet is the famous man in the iron mask, btw).
Even more, it was necessary for Louis XIV to assert himself as the most powerful man in the world. France, the richest and owner of the most impressive castle in Europe. It was in this logic of ostentation and self-affirmation that the Castle of Versailles, where Louis XIV decides to install his Court in 1682.
Did you like the plot? So here's how to go to Versailles and everything you need to know before visiting ?
Practical Information
– The Versailles domain is open every day of the year from Tuesday to Sunday, except December 25th and January 1st.
– Access on the first Sunday of the month, from November to March, is free.
- It's easy to get to Versailles By public transport, there are 3 stations in the city, the closest being “Versailles Château Rive Gauche”, which receives the RER C from Paris. From there it's just a 10-minute walk to the Castle. It is worth remembering that it is necessary to have a special metro ticket: Versailles it's a city outside Paris, then it needs to be a ticket that includes up to “Zone 4” of the Paris region. See how to get around Paris here.
- O Castle of Versailles it opens from 9 am to 17:30 pm (last admission at 17 pm), and admission costs 18 Euros.
– The park and garden of the domain are open every day from 8 am to 18 pm and access is free almost all year round: the only exception is the days of “Musical Garden” or “Great Water Jet”, when all the fountains they put on a kind of show.
– The famous Trianon domain and the Galerie des Carrosses are also open from Tuesday to Sunday, with the exception of December 25th and January 1st, but only in the afternoon: from 12:17 to 30:XNUMX. It is possible to visit only the Trianon, so there is a separate ticket office at the entrance to the Petit Trianon and another one at the Grand Trianon without having to go through the Castle.
– There are daily guided tours and it is even possible to book them over the Internet at the domain's online box office, where there are also different types of “passport” for the visit. Click here.
– The busiest days are Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday, so if you can make your visit on another day of the week, we highly recommend it!
– Allow at least a full day for Versailles, less than that is really too little to take advantage of the entire domain.
See the map of Versailles here.
If the Castle of Versailles has “Louis XIV” printed all over it, with masculinity traits and an excessive display of luxury, the Trianon domain has some other characteristics.
While the Grand Trianon was the second residence of Louis XIV and served as the stage for the peace agreement that ended the issue of Hungary in World War I in 1920 (the Treaty of Trianon), maintaining the tradition of Versailles to be a key place on the European political scene. After all, the Treaty of Versailles that it gave officially ended the First War and established, albeit not indefinitely, peace between the European powers. In the 60s, in the XNUMXth century, General de Gaulle reserved the Grand Trianon for the French Head of State.
The Petit Trianon and its park present femininity in all its areas – after all, it is the symbol of Marie Antoinette's importance in French history. The Queen received the domain of the Trianon as a gift from Louis XVI in 1774, and legend has it that she used it as a meeting point with her lovers. different from Castle of Versailles and the Grand Trianon, the garden of the Petit Trianon has characteristics of the English garden, “erasing” almost entirely the tradition established by Louis XIV.
Well, I think you can get an idea of how to go to Versailles and everything you need to know before visiting the Castle, right? The rest I'll let you find out when you get there?
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