France travel- Versailles

The Palace of Versailles is synonymous with French royalty and grandeur, having been built by the Sun King, Louis XIV to serve as his royal court. Completed in 1682, it served as the royal court and remained so for about 100 years before the court moved back to Paris. During that period, the nobility had to stay at Versailles, so remaining under the eye and control of the king. This is covered in the ongoing trans-Atlantic Versailles period drama series.

When we visited France, my mother and I took a day to venture to this immense royal complex. The complex was much bigger than I’d imagined, and I could see why it was so famous, both for its opulence and size. We took the train from Paris to Versailles (the town), then walked towards the palace along a pleasant street.

Approaching the complex, I saw a giant statue, a paved open space, and a courtyard filled with people in a line that snaked across to form an N shape. We got in line and it took about an hour to get in. We checked out a lot of different rooms and halls, including the opulent Hall of Mirrors, the painted ceilings, the rooms where the king and queen lived and entertained, and a brief glance of the gardens in the back, which required a separate admission fee. Everything inside was exquisite, whether the columns, the windows, the paintings, or the stairs, so much that it was almost like an overload. There are additional buildings on the grounds that you can take a shuttle to, but we didn’t have enough time.

The man himself, Louis XIV