The main attraction of the park is probably the variety of fountains that runs during weekends and some special holidays. My visit was on Tuesday unfortunately.

Garden, fountains and statue at Park of Versailles

Nudity is common art in those days

Goodbye Versailles

Groups of Africans were selling merchandises (mostly scarves) outside of the palace ground, without proper permits obviously. I thought I would only see that in 3rd world countries… didn’t expect to see that in France.

The visit to Versailles was pretty rush; I only had less than 3 hours to visit both the palace and the park, which obviously was not sufficient. 3 hours is probably not enough to explore the palace in details, let alone to walk through the massive garden.

I can’t be too disappointed though; that’s part of the pros and cons for following an organized tour… you got to see a lot of things, but you probably won’t see much of it in depth.

Me, Versailles and the statue of Louis XIV

Goodbye Versailles

Château de Versailles in early morning

Photos of Château de Versailles

We were the earliest group of visitors; in fact we were so early that we had to wait for half an hour before we were allowed to get inside of the palace.

Versailles is said to be the most luxurious palace in the world, and I think it’s probably true… as most of the rooms show amazing craftsmanship, and are decorated with gold, crystal chandeliers, paintings and antiques.

The famous Hall of Mirrors (La galerie des Glaces); too bad that large section of the hall was closed for renovation back then… I couldn’t feel the glamour that was often said about it

Art gallery in the palace

The palace witnessed some important historical events. The huge maintenance cost of Versailles and luxurious lifestyle of the royals was one of the main factors that triggered the French Revolution, which witnessed the beheading of Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette.

The ceiling of Versaille’s chapel

The palace also witnessed the signing of Treaty of Versailles in 1919, which officially ended the World War I between the Allied & Associated Powers and Germany.

Besides the palace building, Versailles’s garden is also a huge attraction for tourists. Read my next post for some pictures from the garden.