I was not too impressed by the Palace. Set aside its history, the only thing that worth mentioning is perhaps its enormous size. There might be some interesting stuff in the palace, but I didn’t have much time to explore it… we were just stopping at Avignon for lunch and a short break as we were heading for Nice.

Photo of Palais des Papes

History of the Palace

Avignon became the residence of the Popes in 1309. The current Palace was a reconstruction of the old bishops’ palace; the reconstruction was initiated by the 3rd Avignon Pope, Pope Benedict XII (1334-42), and continued by his successors to 1364.

Besides serving as the Popes’ Palace, the building was also built as a fortress.

The last Pope that stayed in the Palace was Pope Gregory XI; he decided to move back to Rome in 1377 and died in 1378.

Papal Schism

The death of Pope Gregory XI has led to Papal Schism (or Western Schism) which saw a split within the Catholic Church. Pope Urban VI was elected as the successor, but his dignity and capability was soon questioned by some cardinals. Majority of the cardinals then removed themselves from Rome and elected Pope Clement VII, whom re-established a papal court in Avignon in the same year.

The Papal Schism lasted almost 40 years (1378-1417), by the end of the era, there was 3 men simultaneously claimed to be the real Pope (Rome, Avignon and Pisa). The papacy was continued by the Roman line in the end.

Photos of Palais des Papes

L’Hôtel des Monnaies, a 17th century hotel just opposite the palace

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.