Versailles

Versailles is big. It was the royal palace of Louis XIV (replacing Vincennes) until Louis XVI and the French Revolution. It was also the seat of the French government during that time and through Napoleon's time.

It's great visiting museums and stuff in September - the official tourist season ends on August 31 and we've not had a line anywhere since.

You can easily spend a day or two taking all the tours available at Versailles. There's the Palace, Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon (whatever a Trianon is), Queen's Hamlet, Coach Museum, Garden, Orangrie, King's Kitchen Garden, and a Parliament Museum, Guided tours are available in a half-dozen languages.

The Palace consists mainly of the Grand Apartments which is where we went. They take up the back part of the central U in the plan above. The famous Hall of Mirrors along the back side is part of the Grand Apartments, separating the King's Suite (right above) from the Queen's Suite (left above), but they've started a long-term major restoration and only about 1/3 was not behind a wall. Still not too shabby.

Furniture is pretty sparse in the Grand Apartments but the walls and ceilings are truly grand. Instead of furniture, there's statues everywhere. We also wandered a statuary hall that's part of the Parliament Museum (forward left above) so be prepared to see lots of marble as you scroll down from here.

The royal family sat on the second floor back (above the camera) and the Queen's court on the sides. Every one else occupied the ground floor. This is a rare church in Europe that has the organ above the alter in front - so the acoustics were good for the royal family.

The ceiling is covered by Hercules entering the kingdom of the gods. It's the largest painting on canvas in Europe.

Ceremonial bed chamber. These are found in many royal residences. Nobody slept in them - just for showing off. The clock is by Antoine Murand - 1706. What furniture is in the Grand Apartments is original.

This was the Louis XIV's real bedroom but became the throne room later. The candelabra have been moved here from the Hall of Mirrors during its restoration.

The back corners are the War and Peace Drawing Rooms separated by the Hall of Mirrors. This is dominated by a bas relief of Louis XIV leading his troops to victory. Like that ever happened.

Named because one side is covered in arched mirrors, the other with arched windows. The vaulted ceiling is covered in now-dark frescos and there's a stunning amount of marble, crystal and gilt. And only 1/3 is viewable.

10 million euros are being spent over 4 years in the first restoration since it was built.

Originally the hall was lined with silver furniture but it was melted down in 1689 to finance a war. The later gold plated furniture is out at the cleaners.

19 royal children were born in this room. Marie-Antoinette escaped from the rioters on October 6, 1789 by ducking out the door behind the wall hangings beside the bed.

The silk on the walls and the bed in this room were reconstructed from 1948 through 1976 in the shops in Lyon while they refitted the White House for Jackie Kennedy.

A disaster in marble. The center of all four ceiling moldings are paintings of the Roman court.

Nobody was coronated here but Louis-Philippe made this room into a History of France museum. The obelisk in the center is all about Napoleon's coronation.

A tiny smattering of the furniture and other items are shown in a small room near the end of the tour.