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Jun 26, 2019 · Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images. No visit to Versailles would be complete without a visit to the awe-inspiring, if admittedly rather gaudy, Hall of Mirrors. Designed to embody the power, pomp and elegance of the French monarchy and its considerable military prowess, the 73-meter gallery — which was recently refurbished to its former glory — features 373 mirrors situated around 17 arches.
1. The palace was originally a hunting lodge. The Palace of Versailles had fairly humble beginnings. Louis XIII (1601–1643) bought the land because he loved hunting and built a chateau as a lodge where he loved staying at night if he had no time to go back to Paris or Saint-Germain-en-Laye before dark.
Once a palace, now a museum. Containing over 60,000 works, the collections of the Palace of Versailles span a very broad period. The collections reflect the dual identity of the Palace, as both a palace occupied by the kings of France and the royal court, and later a museum “dedicated to the glories of France,” inaugurated by Louis-Philippe in 1837.
The Palaces are open from 12 pm to 5.30 pm during the low season (November to March). The visit will take at least 3 hours. Explore this place. Discover the Palace and Estate through an interactive map. Plan your visit, look for a place or practical service with a few clicks.
Château de Versailles. When the King of France, Louis XIV, first decided to build a new palace and move his court out of Paris, there was nothing on his chosen site at Versailles but a smallish hunting lodge. Today, the palace stands as a prime example of the over-the-top excesses of the French nobility that led to the French Revolution.
The Palace of Versailles (built c.1624-98), a magnificent example of French Baroque architecture, is the most famous royal chateau in France. The gigantic scale of Versailles exemplifies the architectural theme of 'creation by division' - a series of simple repetitions rhythmically marked off by the repetition of the large windows - which ...
In addition to becoming the center for much of France's best art (at one point, the Mona Lisa in the Kings State Apartments), Versailles Palace boasted over 100 libraries containing more than 200,000 books and manuscripts before the French Revolution, according to a post-Revolution inventory. The palace even became a museum for a few decades ...
