A day at Versailles Palace and surroundings: WHAT TO SEE?
That “old rogue” of Re Sole, Louis XIV, He could not devise anything more opulent, to get away from the gossips of Paris: a Royal Palace and a gigantic garden (quasi pacchiani, I think), fountains with amazing water features, air, precious stones, works commissioned to the elite of European artists of the time…
and, to make matters worse, the wife of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, tired of the strict court etiquette, He took refuge in a building of the estate, the so-called “Petit Trianon“, and erected a small village / farm, called “Hameau de la Reine“, complete with a farm: the French royal era had (literally) lost his head, as Marie Antoinette and her husband would then discovered!
All this is, Luckily, sorpavvissuto the French Revolution, and it is now available to avalanches of tourists, especially American and Asian. 🙂
Reaching Versailles from Paris It is extremely easy: in any station of the Metro or RER, buy ticket “origin / destination” (individual tickets that used in Paris, does not apply!!), and the selected station “VERSAILLES LEFT BANK – Castle of Versailles“.
The ticket price is about 3.5EUR per way, and enables you, by the RER C (you can, for example, take the train to Invalides), to arrive in just over half an hour to the nearest station to the Palace.
Then you have to follow the simple directions laid out station, and walk for about ten minutes, until, well… you'll know. 🙂
in fact, you will find an endless expanse of tourists, waiting to buy a ticket!
Therefore, I have bought the ticket “Passport” on the official website, and, for goodness sake, I suggest you do the same, if you do not want to fry in the sun, maybe in this August hottest in the last 1500 age (cit. Open Studio). 🙂
From April to October, Saturdays and Sundays, all 11 and to 15:30, in the Gardens of Versailles, are activated fountains, which show beautiful Water games, all to the rhythm of classical music that is spread throughout the park. You can see one of the fountains in action, right in the photo at the beginning of the post.
To see these “Water games”, However, you need to pay a supplement 7EUR, Upon ticket purchase.
You ask me disinterested? Not worth the money. The fountains of the gardens are beautiful, water games but fascinating, Overall, not worth the extra 7EUR, bringing the cost of the ticket “Passport” .. 18 A 25 euro.
In definitiva, We can split our visit to Versailles in three “macroareas”:
- The palace itself
- Gardens
- Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon, village of Marie Antoinette
You can visit the three environments in any order but, as he advised me to one of the attendants at the entrance, It starting from the gardens, go towards due Trianon, head towards village-farm, and visit in the afternoon royal palace, after the bulk of the visitors went away, or is directed towards the gardens.
Remember that the Palace closes at 18:30 (in estate), so be careful not too dilungarvi gardens, that have a considerable extension (although I can not say whether they are longer than those of the Reggia di Caserta).
It, come me, visit Versailles in summer, remember to take with you a lot of water (and, Se volete, some sandwiches): near the Petit Trianon, I saw a cart selling bottles 33cl to 4EUR, and it did not seem appropriate to me to pull money in a similar way.
Leaving Versailles, se vi Avanza tempo, camminando Street knew the American Independence, you can go to the nearby park “Part of Eau des Suisses“, to relax before returning to the center of Paris.
At the station “VERSAILLES LEFT BANK – Castle of Versailles” head to the vending machines, and buy a new ticket “origin / destination”, to Paris.
You can see some of the photo I took in Versailles in my gallery, A this address.
In definitiva, visiting the Palace of Versailles is a “must-do” that is a fact (and only one 😛 ) once in a lifetime, and it helps to realize how Italians are stupid, exploit so little and not the Royal Palace that, if in luxury cheeky no match Versailles, meritirebbe very different stages, but that's another story.