Versailles
Trip Start
Mar 07, 2001
1
7
Trip End
Mar 18, 2001
Versailles, France
Friday, March 16, 2001
This was one of two optional excursions which we added to our trip. Versailles itself started out as hunt camp for King Louis XIII, in 1623, so he could get away from the royal palace at the Louvre in Paris for a little free time with the boys. This "hunt camp", is the center wing of today's palace and to our eyes looked like a palace on its own. When the new king - Louis XIV came to power he commissioned his architect Le Vau to extend the lodge and create magnificent gardens and waterways.
Our guide took us on a tour of the gardens but March is not the time to enjoy this spectacular scenery as most of the bushes were still covered in burlap and the ponds and pools around the palace were drained. One advantage was that we saw the system of pumps which made the fountains work. I asked our guide when these were installed and she said they dated from the mid 1600's to 1682 when the King Louis XIV decided that he would move the court from Paris to Versailles. Water was brought by a series of aqueducts from the Seine some 30 miles away and then horses worked the pumps which produced the pressure to make the fountains work. There are so many fountains that enough pressure could only be produced for a few at a time so when the King went for a walk the fountains surrounding him would work and then valves would shut them down as he left so that the ones he was approaching could start up.
I found touring inside the palace to be a very special time for me. My minor in university was History and here I was walking the halls where so many famous events took place. Versailles was the cradle of the French revolution and on Oct 5th and 6th in 1789 a mob from Paris swept in to the palace to bring the royal family back to Paris and eventual beheading. In 1870, the Germans set up headquarters in Versailles and proclaimed the German Empire in the Hall of Mirrors. As I stood in the Hall of Mirrors it was easy to visualize the famous photograph of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles which ended the First World War. The entire 210 feet long hall faces south overlooking the pools, ponds and waterways. The sun wasn't out that day but apparently when it is the sun comes in through the windows reflects on the entire hall of mirrors and turns all the golden statues in the hallway into magnificent gleaming works of art. Apparently the hallway and its contents have been appraised at several billion dollars if it had to be recreated today.
We saw the queen's but not the king's private apartment because that was an addition tour which we weren't signed up for but we did hear about life during Louis XIV's time. Apparently the nobility had very little to do in those days but to watch the king. When he got up, selected nobles would be allowed to watch him dress, go to the royal bathroom open to all eyes in the room, watch him eat, etc., etc. I guess it was their answer to soap operas on tv. :-)
ADVICE
If you are going to Paris, definitely sign up for an excursion to Versailles. Our guide said the best time would be in late May or June when everything is in full bloom but it is not as hot as apparently it is in July and August. Also in those months there are huge crowds and line ups. Our guide also suggested arriving before 10 am. to help with line ups. If you can afford the time, plan on spending a day so that you can take additional excursions to the waterways, the town and the king's apartment.
Maybe sometime I'll add to these descriptions by writing about our time in Monaco, Nice, the perfume factory, the Efiel Tower to name only a few.
