Versailles: Home of the Sun King

The words “France” and “Versailles” are synonymous to me, and I know that would make my boyfriend Louis XIV, The Sun King, very very happy to hear. I have always dreamt of visiting Versailles – the golden gates, the Hall of Mirrors, the dramatic and seemingly endless stretches of gardens and grounds. Excess, excess, excess – and I couldn’t wait to soak it all in.

My husband and I visited in February, the only month as business owners that we can sneak in a vacation together. While Versailles is certainly beautiful year round, I do need to make another trip to focus on the grounds, Marie-Antoinette’s Hamlet and the Trianon when the gardens are green and lush and I can wander aimlessly.

Disclaimer: Since this visit was a bucket list item for me, you’ll see more photos of myself and my husband than you normally would – sorry/not sorry!

Historical Highlights

We can thank King Louis XIII for Versailles, as he was the first to visit and fall in love with the area, located just 13 miles outside of Paris. Louis XIII would visit the dense forests surrounding the small village of Versailles as it was a ripe hunting ground for pheasants, boar and deer. He built a small hunting lodge consisting of two small palaces in 1623 that “would not inspire vanity in even the simplest of gentleman”, and started in motion the legacy that would remain until this day.
After becoming King in 1643, Louis XIV was determined to become an absolute monarch after witnessing years of civil war in France under his mother’s regent rule. This desire to rule everything, to be in utter control and hold power over everyone and everything in France also bled into his obsession with Versailles – it would be built to his specs, to his desires, to his deadlines. To the French Court’s dismay, he fled Paris for his preferred Versailles, demanding that the Court follow him and live there as well.
King Louis XIV started major renovations on Versailles in 1661, and truly did not stop until his death in 1715. We have him (and his many, many architects, gardeners, planners, and hundreds of workers) to thank for the external structure we see today, along with the famous Hall of Mirrors, the Pavilions, the South & North Wing and the Royal Chapel. While King Louis XIV’s vision for Versailles was far from complete at the time of his death, it was his non-stop drive to be the best and to have the best that created Versailles.
Needless to say, the Court were tired of excess and control the monarchy had over them in Versailles and abandoned the palace after King Louis XIV’s death, and the new King, Louis XV, did not set foot in Versailles until 1722. He wanted to continue the work on the palace, but opted for smaller chambers in which he was more comfortable. He split his time residing at both Versailles and Fontainebleau, and other various palaces in France (YOLO!). However, Louis XV is known for the completion of the Royal Opera House.
Louis XVI would be the last French monarch to reside at Versailles, marrying Marie-Antoinette at the Royal Opera House in 1770. He offered Marie-Antoinette many private spaces of her own to enjoy, including the Petit Trianon and The Hamlet. The couple rapidly fell out of popularity with both the nobles and the people, a dangerous situation for the monarchs as the French Revolution was creeping towards a boiling point. On October 5th, 1792, the French people marched from Paris, overtook the palace guards and physically removed both King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette from the palace, sending them both to the guillotine in 1793.
As soon as Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette were removed from the palace, and therefore from power, Versailles was closed. All the paintings and sculptures were moved to the Louvre, but most of the remaining furniture were auctioned off to the people- over 17,000 items (can you even imagine?!?).
After that point in time, many other rulers of France -Napoleon, Louis XVIII, Louis-Phillippe – had good intentions of renovating Versailles to make it their homes, but it was far too expensive and would take years. Versailles came back into the international spotlight in 1855 when Napoleon III hosted Queen Victoria of England at the palace.
Versailles, or more specifically The Hall of Mirrors, continued to be a backdrop for important historical moments of the 19th and 20th century, including use as a military hospital during the Franco-Prussian war and also for the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, which formally ended WW1.
The 1950s began a new era for Versailles, with a fervor to restore the palace to it’s grandeur, including the re-purchase of original furniture that had been auctioned off. And in the early 2000’s, restoration started on the gardens where over 10,000 trees were replanted.
Today, Versailles is owned by the French Republic and managed by the French Ministry of Culture, and over 15,000,000 people visit the palace, park and gardens every year.

Favorite Spots

Royal Chapel

While we were not able to go inside the Chapel when we visited, this was the first stop on our tour and our first glimpse into the gilded life that was Versailles for King Louis XIV. Every day at 10 am there was a special mass for the King, and he would have sat on this upper level while everyone else was below on the ground floor. This was the last building constructed during King Louis XIV’s reign, completed in 1710. Today it is exactly how it was at that time, with the exception of a lantern that was removed from the exterior roof.

Diana Salon

Diana is the Roman Goddess of the Hunt, and this salon is certainly a homage to the roots of Versailles, as depicted in the murals on the ceiling. This room served as a a secondary waiting room to receive the King – I think that if you made it this far you had a pretty good chance of having an audience with him. Louis XIV was also known to use this as his billiards room, setting up tiered seating so that everyone could have a perfect view of him winning the game (as the rules clearly stated).

And, I was so excited to finally set eyes upon the famous bust of Louis XIV that I didn’t take photos of much else!

Hall of Mirrors

And, the piece de resistance of Versailles – the Hall of Mirrors. Truly one of the most beautiful, insanely opulent interiors I have ever seen. It features 17 archways, 17 windows, 578 mirrors and originally 43 chandeliers. They don’t display all 43 chandeliers regularly (boo!), but you can see the brackets in the ceiling where they would be – it must be absolutely stunning. The frescos on the ceiling are all depictions of Louis XIV, celebrating moments of his life and reign. He intended for this to be a showstopper – and I would say that he easily succeeded. It is such a magical place; how truly spectacular this would have been as the backdrop for an evening soiree.

Mercury Salon

One would assume that this was Louis XIV’s bedchambers, and to an extent it was. Up until 1701 Louis XIV “performed” his getting up and going to bed ceremonies here, which were an honor to witness as a member of the Court. I can’t imagine having people gather to watch your morning pee or a being a “lucky” witness to you putting on your PJs and climbing into bed. After the ceremonies every evening, he would leave this room after all were gone and sleep in his private apartments. Still a fabulously decadent room to “pretend” to wake up and fall asleep in!

Queen’s Private Chambers

While we were unable to see the King’s Private Chambers, were were able to visit the Private Chambers of the Queen, last lived in by Marie-Antoinette. How absolutely wild is that. I’m obsessed with the color scheme – gold on gold on cream on gold on pink on gold on teal on gold on gold. I walked away insisting that we need to add some feathers to our bedroom decor…..right?!

Gardens & Grounds

We only had an hour to explore the gardens and grounds, certainly not enough time to stray too far from the palace considering that there are over 2,000 acres. Visiting in February made it easy to see all the planning and maintenance that goes into such a beautiful place, and I still dream of what it looks like when it’s green and lush and blooming. My next visit will focus on the garden & grounds for sure!

Eye-Spy

I am fully, fully obsessed with the sun emblem found all over the palace: doors, windows, ceilings, it’s everywhere! I would not be lying if I told you that I have 20+ photos just of the emblems on the doors….I love it!!
I’m also a sucker for hardware – door knobs, window handles, all of it. They are so intricately beautiful!
Look closely at the corners of the rooms, in most of them you can see where the fabric wall covering ‘breaks’ and indicates a secret door, likely leading back to either the King or Queen’s private apartments.
We also did tour the Dauphin’s Apartments, which were exquisite and not to be missed!

Visiting Tips

Go! Just go and see it for yourself!
I am always a big proponent of having a tour guide, I need context and I almost always have questions (surprising, I know). And, almost most importantly, you don’t have to wait in line – make sure you get a tour that gives you direct access without the wait! We did a private half day tour that included transport from our hotel, which was lovely. I easily could have spent a full 8 hours there, but I know the second half of the day would have been a little much for my husband. In the off-season the gardens are included in the interior ticket, but Spring – Fall it is a separate cost, which would be totally worth it.
Please, someone buy the sneakers in the giftshop and enjoy the heck out of them. I did not and I think about them far too often.