My visit to the Palace of Versailles

by Jay
(UK)

My visit to the Palace of Versailles
I have been to the Palace of Versailles in Paris, France several times. In fact, I go almost every time I visit the French capital. This is probably why it is one of the most visited attractions in France.

It is so easy to get to by using the Paris underground and the internal city rail system or RER. Plus...it´s only a 10 minute walk from the rail station when you get to Versailles. So easy to get to when you are already visiting Paris.

So, why do I like it so much? Well, first of all it has incredible beauty - the palace is just huge and amazing - plus its gardens take ALL DAY to walk about in if you want to enjoy them to their fullest extent. It´s strange to think that it was just originally a royal hunting lodge until it was transformed by King Louis XIV (fourteenth) into the Palace that we see today.

Inside the palace, and you will have to pay (for both the gardens and to enter the palace), the rooms are simply exquisite. French Royalty certainly knew how to live . . . but we all know that they also had to pay for it - with their heads, once the taxpayers caught up with them! The decor and paintings and the ornate period furniture has to be seen. And the gold leaf adorning so much of the room just blends in with the antique ceramics and furniture.

The huge windows let in a great deal of light and frankly, I can imagine myself as pure royalty when there. Perhaps that is what inspires me most to visit the Palace of Versailles and its gardens. I do recommend that you go early – especially in summer – as it is chock-a-block with tourists. If you can, go in the morning as the afternoon Parisian heat is simply unbearable.

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