Versailles!

This week I went to the famous Versailles. I hate going to places like this because there are so many people taking photos, sweating on each other, and the lines that go on for miles make it unbearable. But the Palace of Versailles is famous for a reason. Everyone wants to see it for a reason. I’ve been here before and I must admit that I wasn’t astounded. I had to wait in a long line in the sun and I was shuffled through the rooms with all the other sweaty patrons taking photos of the gaudy walls. I was underwhelmed and disappointed.

This time however, we decided to get there as the opened and see it without the bloodthirsty crowds. And this turned out to be the smartest decision we’ve ever made! We arrived thirty minutes before the doors opened and found ourselves tenth in line. Over the next half hour, a rather lengthy line developed and we were really glad we arrived with so much time to spare. This is a truly magical place without the noise and assorted hindrances of other visitors. I was in absolute amazement by how big and regal the palace felt. You could hear every step you took and almost feel the divinity in the air. The palace without the chaos of other visitors is one of the most magical things I’ve ever gotten to take photos of. We stopped for about thirty minutes in the hall of mirrors to take photos, which gave us some truly beautiful photos and made us the envy of all our friends’ Instagrams. We went during the week and the rooms filled up in less than an hour so I can’t even imagine how it is during the weekends. Everyone wants a slice of this heaven.

On top of its superficial beauty, comes its historical significance. This palace was created by and for the Sun King, who has fossilized his legacy into this immense and glorious palace. I’m a bit obsessed with Louis XIV because as a king, he’s extremely ridiculous. His father died when he was only four years old making him next in line to be king. This combined with his belief that kings were chosen by god, made him quite the selfish child that fostered into a self-righteous monarch. He chose the sun to be his emblem since, “France revolved around him as the planets revolved around the sun.” What more can you say.

Anyway, King Louis XIV decided that he would like to produce his own palace—one where he could instill his legacy and live on past his mortal lifetime. This is quite obviously done. Since he constructed the whole palace from the foundation of his father’s hunting lodge, his sun emblem is visible throughout the palace. And of course the great hall of mirrors that he constructed to be a great room; to reflect the light and shine like the sun. After everything that led to the fall of the monarchy in France, nobody wanted to use the palace of Versailles because it was the ultimate symbol of the monarchy. Louis XIV has successfully created a fossil of himself and his reign.

Okay so I clearly have way more information about Louis and his palace than I can reasonably fit into a write-up. I can, instead, refer anyone interested to the website where they give a light history of the palace and each room. You can even do a virtual tour if you like. There’s also an audioguide app that you can download to your phone and use while you walk through the palace: its intended use. If you’re like me on the other hand, being the big nerd I am, you can listen to the guided tour whenever you like and learn about the palace on your own. There’s also a successful tv series that follows the life of Louis XIV starting with the construction of the palace and integrates the historic events surrounding it. It’s not 100% accurate, so if you’re one of those people who can’t stand historic dramas and their slight inaccuracies, you’d hate it. But if you’re like me and like to pick out the faults in the story line and enjoy the story, you should give it a try. It’s called Versailles and despite being a French-Canadian production, it’s in English! I can’t recommend a biography or podcast yet because I’ve just started reading and listening to them but if I find a good one, I’ll update my recommendations.

After enjoying the palace before it filled with people, we headed to the park. We decided not to explore the gardens today because they’re far too extensive to enjoy on the same day as the palace. The park itself is also very extensive and you can rent bikes, buggies or boats, to paddle around the man-made lake (commissioned by Louis XIV) or ride through the trees. The sun was way too intense for me to pay to fry on a boat in the middle of a lake for an hour and as much as we wanted to rent a buggy (with built-in audioguide!) we did our wallets a service and refrained.

In front of the palace are two, horseshoe-shaped stables: one for the regal horses and the other for common use. The smaller of the two is currently used as a museum of carriages. To be fair, it’s about as boring as it sounds. I, personally, had a lot of fun with it because I’m eagerly searching for all the French history I can find, and also Louis created the stables. We even saw a horse while we were there! I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who doesn’t live in the city or have access to a multi-day trip to Versailles.

This was my day at Versailles (and my many hours of research and entertainment). I definitely recommend going after doing some research on the palace and the king responsible.