"A Town with a Palace or Visa Versa " a Versailles Travel Page by hquittner

We have always gone to Versailles as independent travellers. Each time we have taken the RER from the banks of the Seine and made it an all day trip, with one exception. On that visit we rented a car on arriving at Orly Airport (South of Paris) as part of a 2-week trip with a 10 yr old grandchild. Our first two nights were in Chartres and we felt that walking in the gardens would minimize our jet-lag. It is possible to do this for a minimal price by entering through the Porte de la Reine (I think). Nobody else did this in mid-May and we parked near the canal instead of being directed to the proper place near the Hameau. The whole place was deserted! We walked and became sleepy, quickly had lunch at a restaurant by the water and went on to Chartres. We have entertained the idea of doing this and staying overnight in the town, but have always found other places near the Airports that we had never seen before. This is how we have visited much of France without entering Paris.

If you are not careful you can take the wrong RER train; we have done this and headed somewhere else. The RER on the Left Bank arrives in town nearest to the Palace. It is only about 3 blocks to the gates. If you did not get a Museum Pass you are in for a shock at the lines. Remember time is money and even though you will pay more for it than you should intelligently use, c'est la vie. There is a tourist office selling them just across from the clock (see picture) before you turn left, but buy it before then at some uncrowded museum (like the Cluny) or a Metro or at the RER.

The town (actually a good sized city of suburban Paris) is all around the palace but we have only seen it from the Palace grounds and stopped for a sandwich at the McDonald's(?) across from the train station once with a hungry grandchild. The Cathedral is in town not far from the palace and the Stables (Ecuries) are on either side of the last street as you procede to the gate.

The Palace of Versailles is the largest and of its type, the oldest imperial palace in Europe. Nobody before Louis XIV conceived of a palace as the focal point of a large autocratic kingdom. Inspired by Vaux-le-Vicomte (1661), the plans were drawn up by Le Vau, Le Brun and Le Notre and work began in 1663 reaching a size that could hold 20,000 people, which Mansart accomplished by completions and additions including the Chapel (1699-1710). Louis XV caused the addition of the North Wing and the Opera at its end, The South Wing followed much later to balance the North (1814-29). Much restoration and refurbishment continues today, aided by legislation which makes reacquisiton of the ancient works by the government easier. The immensity of the enterprise does not sink in until one has walked through and around it. The vastness of the Palace set in such a spread of grounds is not easy to imagine even through pictures. The lines and balance are imitated elsewhere but not equalled. And it was probably grander when new and populated by nobility. We should consider this a museum of a period of our civilization.