Versailles.
I still have a lot to share about the Amsterdam portion of our trip to Europe, but for today I’m jumping over to Paris. My daughter has been learning about World War I and was asked to bring in photos from her visit to Versailles, which means that I am editing those photos first. 🙂
Palace of Versailles.
While we were in Paris, we did opt to take a day trip out to the Palace of Versailles. I have so many photos from this part of the trip that I will be presenting them in a multi-part story.
We decided the night before that the next day would work best for our schedule. It’s best to order tickets online. If you are good at planning ahead, you would probably do this prior to heading to Paris. We wanted to watch the weather before making our decision. The concierge of our hotel was very helpful in ordering up our tickets and giving us the printout of the ticket.
Cost.
The cost to visit the Palace and the Estate of Trianon is 20€. The gardens are free unless there is a musical fountain or garden show. If you are under 18 (or under 26 if you reside in the EU), then there is free admission. When traveling with 3 teens this is a welcome surprise (just be sure to have i.d. for any child that might look questionable as to whether they are under 18. Such as my 6’6″ teenager. Only the Louvre questioned him in two entry points, one of which asked for i.d.).
How to get there.
I mentioned in my last Friday Faves that we stayed at the Hotel Opera Richepanse, located at 14 rue du Chevalier de St. Georges. This is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris (and you can read more about the hotel and this area of Paris in this post). The metro line 8 was easily walkable from the hotel. Both to the Madeline and the Concorde stop.
Based on Google maps, it is perhaps slightly closer to the Madeline stop, but the Concorde stop is beside Place de la Concorde and Jardins de Tuileries and I enjoyed seeing those spots every day. Speaking of Google maps… the app was VERY helpful in navigating the city.
Versailles is considered Zone 4, so it is not the standard Paris metro ticket for riding around the city. I’m sure it was better to purchase a round-trip ticket, but we purchased them one way on either end. The cost was 3,55€ per person (at the time of our trip, April 2017). The metro was a little overwhelming with this day trip being our first use of it.
We took the 8
Versailles is definitely a sight to behold.
Originally the site of a hunting lodge for the future Louis XIII, the rebuilding of the residence from 1631-1634 laid the basis for the palace as it is today. Louis XIV was the one who would love the place and build it into the masterpiece that it would become. More work was done under the reign of Louis XV.
Louis XVI would spend a lot of his time in Versailles until the court would leave for Paris in 1789, where Louis XVI and Marie-Antionette would be executed along with over 1200 others at Place de la Concorde during the Reign of Terror.
It was hard to imagine that such horrific events happened at Place de la Concorde while standing with my girlie and watching the sunset.
Travel Tips
Back to Versailles.
Here is where I tell you to learn from my mistake.
I had read if you don’t get there early (i.e. -you are traveling with teens), visit the gardens first and then come back to tour the palace.
If you look at the first photo of the palace, you will see a white tent. This is where they do a cursory look into your bag. Then you get in line to see the palace. All of those people in the photo above are in line. There are four or five rows, stretching from near the white tent to near the palace gate. We are in the final row before you are in line along the gate and walking through the entrance.
Once inside, they will scan your ticket and then you put your bags through a scanner and walking through the metal detector. You are then free to explore the palace.
That line to get inside was 1 1/2 hours!
I thought it was a requirement to get through security.
THIS IS ONLY FOR THE PALACE.
There is an entrance with signage to the left of the pillared part of the building for the gardens. We arrived to this crowd around 10:45 a.m., when we left the estate at 4:30, there was not a line! The palace did not close until 6:30. Had I understood that the line was palace security only, we would have done the gardens and Trianons. The Queen’s hamlet was ultimately the destination that I most wanted to see.
Don’t get me wrong. The palace was definitely stunning.
Its architecture was magnificent.
The history was palpable.
We stood inside the Royal Gate, which was originally torn down in the French Revolution and was re-created with gold leaf and unveiled in 2008.
Standing inside those gates, it was hard to believe that during a moment in history, this was where the Royal Court stood.
It would be inside these walls that the Treaty of Versailles would be signed on June 28, 1919, officially ending World War I.
My words and photos can’t do justice to the amount of history held between these walls. In a tying together of visits to two wonderful cities, Versailles felt like a good conclusion from a history component to the fact that we visited the Anne Frank museum while in Amsterdam.
Be sure to check out more posts from my trip to Versailles… the interior, and the hamlet.
Plus I have plenty more to share from the wanderlust created by Paris and Amsterdam.
A few to get you started:
Let your light shine!
Amy
Beautiful photos!
Thank you! 🙂
Hi Amy I didn’t know you had the influence to organize a wanderlust theme, as certainly fits your recent wanderlust. My ancestors emigated from France to South Africa and were known as the French Hugeunots, They were perseucted for their faith in France but the majority went to America
Hi Abrie. I had to chuckle at your first comment. I most definitely do not have the influence to organize a theme, but I do participate in the weekly photo challenges.
It was very fitting for me that this week’s theme be wanderlust given my recent travels. 🙂
Quite a few of my ancestors on my maternal grandmother’s side were what I believe were Palatinate Germans from the Alsace Lorraine region who came to America in the 1700’s.
My grandmother did not know her ancestral heritage so I am just beginning to learn about this part of my history.
Woohoo, so happy you were able to visit Versailles!
Thank you! It was so beautiful! 🙂
Thanks for bringing back memories of a trip some years ago. Love the photos….when’s your next trip??
Thank you Joan! 🙂 I’m actually heading to Scotland later this month with my mom and aunt!
Good on you.
The images are delightful as is your narrative. I’ve been to Paris 3 times and haven’t yet made it to Versailles! I keep saying I have to go back b/c Versailles! I want to see the gardens, and the hall of mirrors.
I’m looking forward to seeing more of your images and reading about your trip to the Palace.
Versailles was a lovely trip, but I can also see why you haven’t made it there yet. There is so much to see and do in Paris that it is hard to pick and choose! Any reason to go back to Paris is reason enough! 😉
One trip I was only in Paris two days then headed to the Loire Valley where I spent 8 days. It was wonderful! I go back there too. I saw a few castles there, but none can compete with Versailles.
The Loire Valley was one of the considerations for a day trip to be able to see a castle or two. We chose Versailles because its proximity and its historical significance was something all of the teens were learning about in school. Also, I have an infatuation with Eleanor of Aquitaine so if I were going to travel to the Loire Valley, I wanted to make it to the Abbey which was just too far for a one day trip. Next time!! 🙂
LOL! “Next time!” is what I keep saying about Versailles. I have to go back b/c I haven’t seen it yet right? 🙂
Right!! 🙂
Excellent photos Amy!!!
Thank you so much Kevin! 🙂
Lovely shots!!
Thank you so much!!! 🙂
I’ve been to Versailles twice and there is such a deep sense of history within its walls … but also a feeling of injustice that so few could have so much. Sadly, looking at the world today, nothing much has changed. The gap between rich and poor is just as deep and wide.
Versailles did feel like there was much history held between its walls. It seemed strange as well to stand at Place de la Concorde, bustling with people and cars and to realize that many people had died at that very spot during the Reign of Terror.
There seem to be no easy answers to the gap.
Wow! Just plain wow.
Thank you! I was very beautiful there. 😊
I’m just amazed at how affordable this wonder of an attraction is! So good to know there are almost no queues later in the day but I guess one wouldn’t have enough time then to see it all. Saving your post for my planning, thanks again 🙂
Thanks! We left before they closed and there would likely have been time to see it again, but it had been a long day! If you took out the waiting in line that morning that also would have added more time to the end of the day. I was surprised at how much there is to see for that price! It really is a beautiful place. 🙂
We were visiting Versailles at the same time – April 2017! That line to get into the Palace was insane, we ended up opting for a group tour so we could skip the line. It was definitely worth the extra cost – the Palace is beautiful!
Oh! That was smart!! That line was insane! We saw the group tours. It was such a last minute plan on our part that we didn’t think about that. But the Palace sure is beautiful! 🙂