When you see Chateau de Versailles, it is easy to understand why the French Revolution happened. The Kings were overspending, the peasants were starving and the only way the monarch could pay for his lavish and indulgent lifestyle – was to raise taxes … Beheading the king and queen was really just a matter of time.
Understanding Versailles requires a brief review of French history:
~1380’s-1654~ The Louvre Palace in Paris was he official residence of many French Kings and the political capital of France.
1654-1715 ~ Louis XIV was King of France (aka the Sun King)’ reigned for 72 years is the longest of any monarch in European history. Moved the royal residence and the French Court from the Louvre in Paris to the Palace of Versailles.
1715-1774 ~ Louis XV, took the throne when he was 5 and was a huge science buff!
1774-1793 ~ Louis XVI was the last King of France (wife: Marie Antoinette). Both were beheaded during the French Revolution and their deaths ended the French Monarchy.
1789-1799 ~ the French Revolution was a period of political and social upheaval which resulted in the abolition of the French Monarchy and changed the power of monarchies across Europe. It was decreed in 1792 that the Louvre be used as a museum to display the Nation’s masterpieces (at that time 537 paintings).
1804-1814 ~ Napoleon Bonaparte (aka Napoleon I) was Emperor of the French, he rose to prominence during the French Revolution
Louis XIV was the visionary behind Versailles. He greatly expanded his father’s hunting lodge (where he had his favorite memories as a child) into his lavish home and the political capital of France. It features 700 rooms, 67 staircases, 2,153 windows, 27 acres of roofing, and 55 fountains. If you ever wondered where Donald Trump found inspiration … this is it. Louis the XIV spent half of France’s annual GDP building the Palace. The grandeur was to show the power of the King. He lived his whole life in public, people were with him at ALL times – when he went to bed, when he woke up, nobles fought over who would get to dress him, people would sit and observe him eat all his meals. With high ceilings, poor insulation and expansive gardens – Versailles has been and continues to be a beast to heat and maintain.
The gilded gates at the entrance of Versailles
We did a tour of the private Royal Apartments of Louis XV and Louis XVI to bypass the 1.5 hour wait to get into the Palace. We would agree the 15€ was worth every penny. The private apartments/areas were some of the best parts of the Palace we saw and when they opened the doors dividing the private and public areas you really got a sense of what Palace life would have been like.
The Private Apartments
private library … one of the bookcases had false book fronts and was actually a secret door
The Passemant Astronomical Clock. Louis XV was a big lover of science and this clock was presented to him by the French Academy of Sciences in 1750. It is by far the most amazing time piece I have ever seen. It is 6’7, shows the time, date, averages phases of the moon (blue dial) and Copernican planetary motion (8 planets) in the sphere on the top. The mechanism is designed to be able to display the date until the end of the year 9999 – amazing that the clock tells the correct time 265 years after it was created! Louis XV made the clock the ‘official time’ reference for France.
The Riesener Desk was the personal desk of Louis XV. It had an ingenious mechanism that closed the entire desk by the turn of a key and opened it with the push of a button. Impressive for something made in 1769!
Royal Commode … were weren’t suppose to be in there so I stole a quick pic!
One of MANY royal china sets … they have lost the formula for this blue colour so it can never be recreated
a dining room
The Opera house was worth the cost of the tour all on its own. This was one of those places that is truly jaw dropping. The tour is the only way you can actually visit it’s unless you can afford a ticket to the Opera.
The opera was commissioned by Louis XV but not completed and inaugurated until 1770 for the celebration of the marriage of Louis XVI to Marie Antoinette.
The Opera
Not only is the Opera amazing for its decoration, it is also amazing in how cleverly it is lit. Those chandeliers you see – there is actually only 1 set/row and the back row amonst the curtains aren’t actually there! They are reflections in mirrors, even standing in the room we would never have known – just blows you away! The most expensive part of running the Opera in the beginning was the candles for all the chandeliers, now it is heating!
We found keeping track of the Louis’ very confusing until we heard a great way to remember … The 14th built it all, the 15th enjoyed it all and the 16th paid for it all (with his head)! From our tour we went on to the public areas. Much of the palace has been restored. Much of the furniture was taken/sold off during the French Revolution so some of the decoration/furniture is original while others are restorations that are true to what would have been there.
The Public Areas
Chapel
Queen’s Bedchamber
A view to the gardens
The throne
The Hall of Mirrors … definitely a place where the indulgent lifestyle of the king was blatantly obvious. In the 1700’s mirrors were some of the most expensive things to possess . So naturally, Louis XIV should have a room with over 300 hundred of them.
Parts of the Palace are under repair, so you sometimes get an inside view on how they restore artand 18th century. building techniques!
This opulent palace was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
Maps & Flip Flops 