Versailles (28/8)

To much gilding and too many people!

We were up early with the intention of arriving at Versailles early. It didn't quite work out as we took the train in the wrong direction! Idiots you might think? Unfortunately the line we took goes in a big U shape so that the two ends of the line are actually quite near each other and near Versailles, and we of course took the longer route. We had a choice between Versailles-Chateau and Versailles Chantiers and we didn't read the signs carefully. We noticed that we weren't the only ones to make that mistake. It didn't matter too much as it was quite a pleasant ride once it got to the semi-rural countryside. At least both the car park and the bus park were only half full, so there could easily have been much longer queues than we experienced. The queues were a little slow as we had to have bags x-rayed and we were scanned just as in an airport. This had the benefit of spacing people out a bit as they entered – and therefore a bit more civilized.

As requested, here are the people
who prefer to be behind the camera.
Gardens and palace at Versailles

The palace is opulent. This is obvious from all the gilding all around various parts of the building. So what is the story behind it all? In 1661, Louis XIV chose to enlarge and improve an existing palace built by Louis III so that he could move the seat of government away from Paris which was not very friendly towards the monarchy. The Court and Seat of Government were finally installed in 1682, and naturally the the town grew up to service the needs of all those who had to be close to the king. The work did not stop with his death in 1715, but continued under Louis XV and Louis XVI. For each, it was a case of taking his courtiers and government officials out of their power base so he could control them more easily, and the grandeur was for much the same purpose as well as to impress foreign dignatories. For a similar reason, life was very regimented and those at court had to be part of the ritual or they lost their position. It all came to an abrupt halt when the monarchy fled Versailles after the first few days of the Revolution. It remained essentially abandoned until King Louis-Philippe converted it into a museum dedicated to “all the Glories of France” in 1837 – a move designed to try to keep the people onside.

Over the top decor!

The chateau itself was part of that same design. The rooms were accessible depending on level in society, and more opulent the closer to royalty. The well-known Hall of Mirrors was merely a corridor where petitioners were kept waiting and at the same time were to be over-awed by the situation they found themselves in.  (Opulence and extravagance certainly do not necessarily mean good taste in my books!).

During the Revolution it was probably the distance of Versailles from Paris which saved most of the remarkable wall and ceiling decorations during the Revolution, but all the moveable objects were either looted or sold off. The museum has managed to re-acquire some original pieces with good provenance and is continuing to do so, but quite a lot is on loan. They have tried to recreate it as it would have been in the time of Louis XVI and our impression is that both the lifestyle and the building were “over the top”.

Outside the chateau are the equally famous gardens. They are really extensive, and it would be possible for all sorts of intrigues to be carried out there out of earshot of the palace and anyone else living there. Again they were designed to impress, which they duly did. The scale is not realised until you try and walk some of it as we did.

French kids studying their history

The other key buildings on the site are the Grand Trianon which is where Napoleon lived – the chateau did not fit with what he was trying to achieve, and Petit Trianon which was given to Marie Antoinette by Louis XVI in 1774 as she found life in the chateau uncomfortable. In some ways historians have given her a hard time by historians as this small palace was decorated very simply ( but elegantly) and it would appear as though she was in close contact with the servants in this environment. The kitchens and stores were on the ground floor and her apartments were on the two floors above. Unfortunately we didn't have time to walk through Marie-Antoinette's estate to the village and farm that was built for her.

Little Trianon - much more modest

To do the whole estate justice really does require the 2-day pass which is on offer, but you can certainly get a good impression of the what all the hype is about.  

The gardens extend for miles (literally).
As always, these places require maintenance