Versailles (Day Trip)★★★
The Palace of Versailles is the epitome of absolutist splendor and the largest palace in Europe. What began as a modest hunting lodge for Louis XIII was transformed by his son Louis XIV — the Sun King — from 1661 into a mega-project: 2,300 rooms, 800 hectares of gardens, 1,400 fountains, 67 staircases. Here, the French court lived with up to 20,000 people until the revolution ended the spectacle in 1789.
The Hall of Mirrors (Galerie des Glaces) is the highlight: 73 meters long, 357 mirrors opposite as many windows, ceiling paintings by Le Brun, 20,000 candles at evening festivities. Here, the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919. The Grands Appartements (state apartments of the king and queen) showcase Baroque in its most extreme form: gilded stucco ceilings, marble in 23 colors, tapestries, and paintings.
The gardens by André Le Nôtre are a masterpiece of landscape architecture: geometric flower beds, orangery, Grand Canal (you can rent rowboats, €12/30 min.), and the bosquets (hidden hedge gardens). From April to October, the Grandes Eaux Musicales take place — the fountains are operated to Baroque music (Tue & Fri–Sun, surcharge €10). The Domaine de Marie-Antoinette — the Petit Trianon and the Hameau de la Reine (Queen's Hamlet, where Marie-Antoinette played shepherdess) — is a quiet counterpoint to the splendor of the main palace.
💡 Tipp
Come on Tuesdays or Wednesdays (fewer visitors than on weekends). Buy the "Passport" ticket (€21, €28 on fountain days), which includes everything. Arrival: RER C from Paris (40 min, €4.35 one way) to "Versailles Château Rive Gauche," then a 10-minute walk. Plan: Palace in the morning, gardens in the afternoon, Trianon at the end.
