Versailles

The Palace of Versailles is reputed to be one of the world's most famous World Heritage buildings. It is said to be the finest and most complete achievement of French art in the 17th century. The brick and stone palace of Louis XIII was transformed and greatly enlarged by his son Louis XIV who installed the Court and Seat of Government there in 1682. We had plenty of time to admire the outside of the well proportioned complex and its decorative gates and fences, as we queued for 40 minutes to go in to the palace. 

There are many awesome paintings in the downstairs galleries. The Battles Gallery was designed in 1833 and opened in 1837 by which time Louis Philippe had brought together 33 paintings depicting the battles which France had fought - from the Batle of Tolbiac in 496 to the Battle of Wagram in 1809. It also contains 80 busts of famous officers who were killed in combat. Here is a photo of one of the battle paintings. It was huge, almost covering the wall (sorry about the flash on the glass). The detail in it, as in all the others, was incredible. There were dozens of fine paintings, some of which featured Marie Antoinette, Louis XVI, and their family.

Upstairs the salons and boudoirs had elaborately painted ceilings, statues, antique furnishings, magnificent brocades on some walls and tapestries on others. Drapes and coverings on the four poster beds were lavish.

This truly is a case of a picture is worth a thousand words. It would be impossible to do justice to these treasures with words, but the photos will give you some idea.....

The flooring was interesting also - inlaid criss-crossed wooden flooring in many areas, as you can see in this photo. The Royal Chapel had a magnificent tiled floor.

The Hall of Mirrors -La Grande Galerie- was magnificent. It is 73 metres long and 357 mirrors decorate the 17 arches opposite the windows. The arches are edged with gold paint and the chandeliers glistened.

 It was intended to glorify the political, economic and artistic success of France.

Several notable events have taken place in it. When Marie Antoinette married the Dauphin, the future Louis XVI, in May 1770, a Masked Ball to celebrate their wedding was held there.

The Treaty of Versailles was signed there on 28 June 1919, which sealed the end of the 1st World War.

Another notable area was the Royal Chapel, opened in 1689, which had a tiled floor and arched pillars. The paintings on its ceiling were lovely. In French monarchy the king was said to be chosen by God and through his coronation became his "lieutenant" on earth. The paintings and sculptures in the chapel at Versailles evoke that idea in a series which starts at the nave and ends at the gallery where the king would have sat.

The Palace was embellished in the 18th century. New apartments were arranged during the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI. On 6 October 1789, the monarchy left Versailles after the first days of the French Revolution.

In 1837, King Louis-Philippe officially opened his Museum at the Palace, dedicated to "all the Glories of France".

The gardens were laid out from 1661 on and are criss-crossed by a network of rectangular pathways in a geometric pattern. Looking from the chateau the Royal Walk extends 335m long and is 40m wide.

It features a canal, and a meticulously groomed lawn flanked with 12 statues. To the sides of it are feature gardens and fountains.

We came away with our heads full of amazing images. Will be great to have the photos to relive our memorable visit to this remarkable place. We could have gone through it ten times to take everything in!