Palace of Versailles

The Palace of Versailles is the grandest statement of royal power ever built in Europe. What began as Louis XIII's modest hunting lodge was transformed by his son, the Sun King Louis XIV, into a colossal seat of government and theatre of absolute monarchy. From 1682 until the Revolution of 1789, the entire French court lived here in a gilded routine of ceremony, intrigue and spectacle. Today the estate is a UNESCO World Heritage site that draws millions who come to walk the same halls as Marie Antoinette and stand where treaties that shaped the modern world were signed.

The palace itself holds the famous State Apartments and the breathtaking Hall of Mirrors, a 73 metre gallery where 357 mirrors face seventeen arched windows that flood the room with light bouncing off the gardens beyond. Beyond the palace lie the formal gardens of Andre Le Notre, a masterpiece of geometry, fountains and sculpted hedges that stretch toward the Grand Canal. Further out sit the Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon, the intimate retreats where royals escaped court etiquette, and the Queen's Hamlet, Marie Antoinette's storybook model village complete with a working farm.

Versailles is enormous and the crowds are real, so a skip the line timed ticket is essential. The Passport ticket is the smart choice because it bundles the palace, the Trianon estate and, on fountain show days, the musical gardens into one entry. Book the earliest morning slot to reach the Hall of Mirrors before the tour groups, then work outward to the gardens as the palace fills.

The gardens come alive on Musical Fountains days and Musical Gardens days, usually weekends from spring to autumn, when the fountains run to baroque music. To get there take RER C directly to Versailles Chateau Rive Gauche, a short walk from the gates, with a journey of around forty minutes from central Paris. Set aside a full day if you want to see both the palace and the Trianon estate without rushing.