Versailles

by – Paul Wormsbacher, Tour Manager, Europe

Versailles is a town just outside of Paris, France that is most famous for the Palace of Versailles.

Versailles is perhaps the most famous, vast and awe-inspiring palace in the western world. Commissioned by Louis XIV, the king of France, who moved to the Palace is 1682. It was the seat of power for the French monarchy up until the French Revolution of 1789.

Generally tours spending three or more nights in Paris will visit the Palace as an included part of the tour while it is a short train ride from the centre of Paris for those wishing to visit the Palace in their own time. You should hoever set adside roughly half a day to get there and back and see the Palace of Versailles properly.

by – Curtis71

The Chateau of Versailles has two main features: The Palace and the Gardens, the pair being a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Palace is a study in royal excess, featuring incredibly richly decorated rooms where French Royalty from centuries ago lived and worked. Every painting, every bed sheet, every light fixture, every doorframe oozes exorbitant wealth and history.

Behind the palace, the Gardens stretch out a distance large enough for them to have a golf cart rental so visitors can drive around and see it all! With or without the cart, the Gardens are shockingly huge, beautiful, artistic and peaceful. Truly a sight to behold.

The Palace is perhaps also known for its Hall of Mirrors, reception room for Louis XIV and venue for the ratification of the Treaty that ended the First World War.