Visiting Europe’s Ultimate Favorite Palace: Versailles
Visiting Europe’s Favorite Palace: Versailles
When it comes to visiting Paris,
it seems like a rule for everyone to not only visit majority of the travel
attractions in the city and to scour every corner of Paris for some new and hidden
discoveries, but also to head outside the scenic town to Le Château Versailles, the Palace of
Versailles. France seems to be all about yellow lights and beautiful parks and palaces, but the ones I found in Paris seem to “fall short” compared to the one in Versailles. And by falling short, I don’t mean that the ones in Paris are ordinary; that’s the thing, they are extraordinary, but the one in Versailles is just extraordinary beyond words.
Getting here is easy, as it’s just
around twenty to thirty minutes cab ride from Paris. Once you alight at
Versailles, there is the welcoming scent of cold autumn air and wafts of
freshly cut grass. It feels like you’re transported into a deluxe suburb, but here it’s full of people and transportation. The
best time to go is as during mornings, when the palace officially opens, so
that you get to enjoy both the grandiosity of history and architecture, as well
as in the garden. There are certainly many points of interest when visiting Europe’s favorite palace. This splendid piece of architecture was built in the mid-17th century to project the absolute power of the French monarchy, which was then at the height of its supremacy. I couldn’t even imagine that there could be such kind of excessive luxury that’s preserved and actually made available to everyone to see. And surprisingly, that’s just the castle itself – there’s more. No inside palace pics here though, I like you to enjoy the outside of it first - which is of course, the garden.
The Château de Versailles Gardens and Park is another must see. The vastness of the French style terraces, flowerbeds, tree-lined paths, ponds, fountains, and intricate sculptures are so compelling, you can easily spend the whole day just staring at everything. You can tour the place via bikes, on foot, or even thru guides tours, available in almost all languages. It’s good for any kind of traveller, be it soloists, couples, groupies, oldies, and even families. It’s the type of site that’s universal and easy to appreciate, without even having the need to research or have a specific preference.
This is one of the best travel places in France to get to know the country on a historical and cultural level. It’s rich in story and art, and it’s the place that is good for almost any kind of travel activity – from recreation to alone time. Versailles is all for that. That’s why it’s a classic Europe favorite; it parades itself with history, art, and sophistication, three things that Europe is really fond of.
Address: Place d'Armes, 78000 Versailles, France
Opening Hours: Everyday except Mondays: 9:00 A.M. – 5:30 P.M.
Official Website: http://en.chateauversailles.fr/homepage
Official Website: http://en.chateauversailles.fr/homepage
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TRAVEL] Read the rest of Explore France Travel Blog Series:
I have visited some of the France attractions about 4 years ago with some college friends. We spend most of the time of our trip in Paris and used to visit the The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum and Palais Garnier. These are gorgeous attractions. Now this blog post is an inspiration for me to discover the Palace of Versailles too. Now I must visit this Palace after my lake mead hoover dam tour. I would like to explore all the sights shown in above photographs. Let me know how much time will be enough for this purpose?
ReplyDeleteHey David, Palais Garnier looks like it’s worth coming back for! For Versailles, I suggest spend a whole day in it, half day inside the Palace, and another 2 hours or so spending around the gardens. Better bring at least 4 GB worth of memory card for your camera! :)
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