In 1624, Louis XIII, the king of France, gave orders to
build a hunting lodge in the small village of Versailles. His son, Louis XIV, had the
gardens embellished from 1661 onwards.
Between 1668 and 1690, architect Louis Le Vau and his
successor Jules Hardouin-Mansard considerably enlarged and embellished the
palace of Versailles.
At the
same time, the gardener Le Nôtre laid out the Versailles park. Le Brun took care of
paintings and sculptures.
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The grand Trianon in Versailles park
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The hall of mirrors in the palace of Versailles
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In 1685, 36 000 people and 6 000 horses were working on the
contruction of the 500 meters long palace, which took altogether 50
years.
The palace of Versailles, including the famous Hall of Mirrors
(Galerie des Glaces), left on the picture, has been imitated many times thoughout Europe during the 18th
century.
A
good way to discover
Versailles is on a bus
tour. |
The
palace is open everyday except Mondays from 9am to 5.30pm (6.30pm from May 2nd to September 30th).The
Versailles park is open daily from 7 or 8 pm. Its access is free.
Web site. From Paris, take the train at
Gare Saint-Lazare station to Versailles Rive Droite station or at Montparnasse station to
Versailles Chantier station (Count half an hour from Paris). |
The park at Versailles palace |
