Versailles Private Day Excursion with Palace, Gardens & Trianon

A World Heritage listed, the Palace of Versailles is one of the finest achievements of French art in the seventeenth century. The former hunting lodge of Louis XIII was transformed and expanded by his son Louis XIV who installed his court and his government in 1682. Until the French Revolution, kings have succeeded, embellishing each the Castle. This royal jewel is definitely a must-see French landmark. Venture in the Palace, discover its spectacular architecture, and its splendid rooms like the King and Queen’s apartments, many livings room with its stories and the breath taking Mirror Hall design to impress visitors with its three hundred and fifty seven mirrors, its marble and bronze decorations and its gilded bronze sculptures. The visit ends with an introduction to Versailles Gardens. Thanks to skip the line access, the guide invites you to discover the Royal Apartments.

It was the fifth – and final – chapel built in the Palace since the reign of Louis XIII. The design was presented to the king by Jules Hardouin-Mansart in 1699. Unfortunately, the First Architect to the King died in 1708 before the end of the works, which were finished by his brother-in-law, Robert de Cotte.

Inaugurated in 1770 during the reign of Louis XV, it was at the time the largest concert hall in Europe, and was also a great technical achievement and an impressive feat of decorative refinement. A theater for monarchic and then republican life, it has hosted celebrations, shows and parliamentary debates.

In 1661, Louis XIV charged André Le Nôtre to create the gardens of Versailles. The creation of gardens requires a gigantic work about forty years: leveling spaces, landscaping garden beds, creation of ponds and the Canal. Louis XIV considered gardens as important as the castle. André Le Nôtre created an ultimate French Style garden: a terrace with a global view of the gardens, a geometric organization of the axes, ponds, flowerbeds, groves. The garden is designed like a building, a walk playing on the perspectives. Charles Le Brun drew a large number of statues and fountains. The 221 sculptures make Versailles as the world's largest open-air museum of sculptures. Fountains and groves adorn the gardens. The groves regularly hosted the King's walk and the entertainment of the court. Appreciate a stroll trough the Le Nôtre's gardens. Each summer, Versailles offers superb entertainment in the gardens to give visitors the experience of the magnificence of the celebrations in the garden at the time of Louis XIV. Your guide will offer you a visit to the musical gardens (Tuesday from June to October) and the musical fountains show (Saturdays and Sundays from April to October).

In 1758, Louis XV plans the construction of a new small castle. He orders Ange-Jacques Gabriel, a royal pavilion to house the intimacy of his favor Madame de Pompadour. The Petit Trianon is a true emblem of Neo-classical architecture. At the death of Louis XV, Louis XVI offer it to his young wife, Marie Antoinette. She changes the botanical garden of Louis XV by an sumptuous Anglo-Chinese garden. A visit to the Petit Trianon is a moving immersion in the daily life of Marie Antoinette, a deeply human Queen. Often accused of frivolity, it would end tragically during the French Revolution. Approach the personality of this historical figure, famous for her beauty, her modernity and her sumptuous entertainment. Enjoy the gardens to discover the Temple of Love and Belvedere, dear to the Queen. The Grand Trianon is a unique building, with its central loggia which ensures a real transparency between the courtyard and the gardens. In 1687, Louis XIV ordered the construction of a "small palace of pink marble and porphyritic with gorgeous gardens", according to the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart. The castle is then called "Marble Trianon". This pink marble building subtly combines sumptuousness and intimacy. Many original sculptured decorations are visible in the apartments, as well as a magnificent Empire furniture. The Grand Trianon is surrounded by French Style Gardens whose countless flowers and groves contribute to creating a relaxing atmosphere. ​The Queen's Hamlet, built between 1783 and 1786 by Richard Mique, coincides with the taste of the time for the charms of rural life. This small village "as in the countryside" had houses made either for the simple entertainment like the billiard room, or for a real agricultural function as the dairies or the farm. It served as a private meeting place for the Queen and her closest friends, a place of leisure.