I've been to the Chateau Versailles once before, many years ago, at which time I only saw the gardens. This time, I planned to go through the palace and, later in the evening, take in a special musical fountain and fireworks show. Well, that was the PLAN anyway!!! Since the show didn't start until 8:30pm, I planned to arrive at the palace around 5pm and spend 2-3 hours meandering the interior to see what I could see.
But, before I get ahead of myself, here's some fun tidbits you might enjoy knowing about Versailles:
- It served as the principal royal residence of France from 1682 - 1789
- It's about 12 miles outside of Paris
- Almost 8 million people visited there in 2017
- It was built in the late 1600's....nearly 350 years ago
- It took 36,000 workers to construct the palace, along with its gardens. After its completion, it could accommodate as many as 5,000 people at a time.
- The Palace of Versailles has a total number of 2,153 windows (that's a lot of Windex!), 1,200 fireplaces, 700 rooms, and 67 staircases...all squished into over 700,000 sqft.
Regarding the gardens and fountains:
Ok, now that you've digested that, back to my story.
I took the train from Paris to Versailles but it entailed a lot of confusion because the metro station where I was to start from was closed due to construction. I had to figure out how to get to another line that had a connection to take me to Versailles. Side note: The train doesn't actually take you to the entrance of the Chateau Versailles, it takes you to the TOWN of Versailles, then you have to hoof it almost 1 kilometer to the front door. With much of it being cobblestone, my knees weren't in very great shape when I arrived...and I had a LOT more walking ahead of me!!!
As a result of the train situation and walking, I arrived much later than anticipated. Clearly, I didn't have enough time to go through the palace itself, so I hung out until the gates were opened for the special event. I was excited to see the nightlit musical fountains and fireworks show ($27). Everyone in the gardens had to exit by 7pm so we would have exclusive access for that nights program, which is held every Sat evening starting at 8:30pm from April - October.
It seemed odd, though, given this was August, there was heavy emphasis on seeing the fountains lit up at night. But, it doesn't get dark until past 9:30pm!!
There were two suggested walks through the gardens with maps of the path...North or South. North takes about 1 1/2 hours (I took this one) and South about 1 hour. It's almost impossible to do both unless you have the endurance of a real trekker...it's THAT big! You had to follow a well-signed path to go from one fountain to the next because the razor-sharp-manicured hedges were so tall (about 20' I estimate) you couldn't see where you were headed. It was like being in a massive maze.
After viewing the last fountain, the path delivered me to the Great Lawn where thousands were finding a place to squat, enjoy a picnic, wine, etc and wait for the 'really big shew'...the fireworks.
Ok, let's walk through the gardens, via photos, culminating in....well, you'll see.
Warning: To truly appreciate all the detail of these photos, it's best not to view them via cell phone screens (even if you paid over a thousand bucks for them!) as you'll have to do a lot of scrolling left and right and up and down to see the whole thing. Just sayin....
- There are 700 topiares
- Approximately 300,000 flowers are planted every year
- There are 190 acres of formal french gardens in a 2,100 acre park
- Statues...there are 155 of them
- You could probably stuff a family of 5 inside just one of the 235 gigantic vases/urns adorning the grounds
- A closed circuit water system incorporates 35 km (over 20 miles) of piping system thats been unchanged since the 17th century
- When the King promenaded in the gardens, fountains were turned on only when the King was approaching them, and turned off after he departed
- The 55 pools and fountains utilize 600 water jets in their display
- The Great Lawn is 1,100 feet long by 130 ft wide
- The Grand Canal LOOKS like it's one long body of water, but in fact, it's shaped like a cross. It's 5479 feet long (almost a mile!), 200 feet wide, and the cross part is 3,500 feet in length.
Ok, now that you've digested that, back to my story.
I took the train from Paris to Versailles but it entailed a lot of confusion because the metro station where I was to start from was closed due to construction. I had to figure out how to get to another line that had a connection to take me to Versailles. Side note: The train doesn't actually take you to the entrance of the Chateau Versailles, it takes you to the TOWN of Versailles, then you have to hoof it almost 1 kilometer to the front door. With much of it being cobblestone, my knees weren't in very great shape when I arrived...and I had a LOT more walking ahead of me!!!
As a result of the train situation and walking, I arrived much later than anticipated. Clearly, I didn't have enough time to go through the palace itself, so I hung out until the gates were opened for the special event. I was excited to see the nightlit musical fountains and fireworks show ($27). Everyone in the gardens had to exit by 7pm so we would have exclusive access for that nights program, which is held every Sat evening starting at 8:30pm from April - October.
It seemed odd, though, given this was August, there was heavy emphasis on seeing the fountains lit up at night. But, it doesn't get dark until past 9:30pm!!
There were two suggested walks through the gardens with maps of the path...North or South. North takes about 1 1/2 hours (I took this one) and South about 1 hour. It's almost impossible to do both unless you have the endurance of a real trekker...it's THAT big! You had to follow a well-signed path to go from one fountain to the next because the razor-sharp-manicured hedges were so tall (about 20' I estimate) you couldn't see where you were headed. It was like being in a massive maze.
After viewing the last fountain, the path delivered me to the Great Lawn where thousands were finding a place to squat, enjoy a picnic, wine, etc and wait for the 'really big shew'...the fireworks.
Ok, let's walk through the gardens, via photos, culminating in....well, you'll see.
Warning: To truly appreciate all the detail of these photos, it's best not to view them via cell phone screens (even if you paid over a thousand bucks for them!) as you'll have to do a lot of scrolling left and right and up and down to see the whole thing. Just sayin....
The Front Gate
(I couldn't find a doorbell)
The Approach
At 8:30pm we were let onto the grounds which seemed to stretch to infinity. The only way to take a photo of this side of the palace is to do a panorama shot.
Everything is perfectly coiffed.
Just a small garden off to the side. EHHHH!
An aerial shot I borrowed from the interwebs.
The North garden/fountain walk I took is to the right of the Great Lawn (sardined between the Grand Canal and the two large ponds at the bottom of the photo).
I get a kick out of fountain features that 'hurl'. LOL!!
A short video!!
Another short video!
Notice the razor-sharp hedges!!
Notice the size of the people in relation to the fountain!
Thousands waiting in the dark on the Great Lawn for the fireworks show.
(Sorry, my camera doesn't 'do' night photos)
No one was allowed to sit on the Great Lawn itself because it was being used as part of the fireworks show. Everyone sat off to the side.
On this long spanse of lawn were gas torches that exploded fire in sequence and timed to the music heard on speakers placed all throughout the gardens.
It was amazing...like a freight train of fire roaring past you at lightening speed.
It was amazing...like a freight train of fire roaring past you at lightening speed.
See for yourself in this next video.
It's a bit longer (6 mins) but patience pays off towards the end.
Video of the Fireworks Finale!!
(launched from the Grand Canal at the end of the Great Lawn)
So....that was my evening in Versailles!! I waddled back to the train station and was whisked back to my apartment in Paris.
Ho Hum.
Next up....Day 4...a Ride on the HoHo + the Sacre Coeur!!
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