The Château of Versailles
The rooms in the “envelope,” or the newer part of the building, were designed to impress, which they do. They include a series of rooms called the Grand Apartments, used primarily for ceremonial events (a daily occurrence), the Queen’s Apartments, and the Galerie des Glaces. These, along with the King’s Apartments and the Chapel, are must-sees. If you have the fortitude, you can take a guided visit to the royal family’s private apartments (an additional 7€; some in English) to get a more intimate look at castle life.
Each room in the Grand Apartments is dedicated to a different planet (that circles around the sun, as in the Sun King), and each has a fabulous painting on the ceiling depicting the god or goddess associated with said heavenly sphere. The first and probably the most staggering, painting-wise, is in the Salon d’Hercule. It holds an enormous canvas by Paolo Veronese, Christ at Supper with Simon, as well as a splendid, divinity-bedecked ceiling portraying Hercules being welcomed by the gods of Olympus by Antoine Lemoyne. At 480 sq. m (5,166 sq. ft.), it is one of the largest paintings in France. The Salon d’Apollon, not surprisingly, was the throne room, where the Sun King would receive ambassadors and other heads of state.
The ornate Salon de Guerre and Salon de Paix bookend the most famous room in the place, the recently restored Galerie des Glaces (the Hall of Mirrors). Louis XIV commanded his painter-in-chief, Charles Le Brun, to paint the 12m-high (40-ft.) ceiling of this 73m-long (240-ft.) gallery with representations of his accomplishments. This masterwork is illuminated by light from the 17 windows that overlook the garden, which are matched on the opposite wall by 17 mirrored panels. Add to that a few enormous crystal chandeliers, and the effect is dazzling. This splendid setting was the scene of a historic event in a more recent century: In 1919, World War I officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed here. In 2023, President Macron threw a decadent banquet there for the UK’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
The Queen’s Apartments include a gorgeous bedroom with silk hangings printed with lilacs and peacock feathers, which looks exactly as it did in 1789, when the Queen, Marie Antoinette, was forced to flee revolutionary mobs through a secret door (barely visible in the wall near her bed). The King’s Apartments are even more splendiferous, though in a very different style: Here the ceilings have been left blank white, which brings out the elaborate white and gold decoration on the walls. The King’s Bedroom, hung from top to bottom with gold brocade, is fitted with a banister that separated the King from the 100 or so people who would watch him wake up in the morning.
You should also make sure to see the Chapel, a masterpiece of light and harmony by Jules Hardouin Mansart, where the kings attended mass. This lofty space (the ceiling is more than 25m/82 ft. high) reflects both Gothic and baroque styles, combining a vaulted roof, stained glass, and gargoyles with columns and balustrades typical of the early 18th century.
The rooms in the “envelope,” or the newer part of the building, were designed to impress, which they do. They include a series of rooms called the Grand Apartments, used primarily for ceremonial events (a daily occurrence), the Queen’s Apartments, and the Galerie des Glaces. These, along with the King’s Apartments and the Chapel, are must-sees. If you have the fortitude, you can take a guided visit to the royal family’s private apartments (an additional 7€; some in English) to get a more intimate look at castle life.
Each room in the Grand Apartments is dedicated to a different planet (that circles around the sun, as in the Sun King), and each has a fabulous painting on the ceiling depicting the god or goddess associated with said heavenly sphere. The first and probably the most staggering, painting-wise, is in the Salon d’Hercule. It holds an enormous canvas by Paolo Veronese, Christ at Supper with Simon, as well as a splendid, divinity-bedecked ceiling portraying Hercules being welcomed by the gods of Olympus by Antoine Lemoyne. At 480 sq. m (5,166 sq. ft.), it is one of the largest paintings in France. The Salon d’Apollon, not surprisingly, was the throne room, where the Sun King would receive ambassadors and other heads of state.
The ornate Salon de Guerre and Salon de Paix bookend the most famous room in the place, the recently restored Galerie des Glaces (the Hall of Mirrors). Louis XIV commanded his painter-in-chief, Charles Le Brun, to paint the 12m-high (40-ft.) ceiling of this 73m-long (240-ft.) gallery with representations of his accomplishments. This masterwork is illuminated by light from the 17 windows that overlook the garden, which are matched on the opposite wall by 17 mirrored panels. Add to that a few enormous crystal chandeliers, and the effect is dazzling. This splendid setting was the scene of a historic event in a more recent century: In 1919, World War I officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed here. In 2023, President Macron threw a decadent banquet there for the UK’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
The Queen’s Apartments include a gorgeous bedroom with silk hangings printed with lilacs and peacock feathers, which looks exactly as it did in 1789, when the Queen, Marie Antoinette, was forced to flee revolutionary mobs through a secret door (barely visible in the wall near her bed). The King’s Apartments are even more splendiferous, though in a very different style: Here the ceilings have been left blank white, which brings out the elaborate white and gold decoration on the walls. The King’s Bedroom, hung from top to bottom with gold brocade, is fitted with a banister that separated the King from the 100 or so people who would watch him wake up in the morning.
You should also make sure to see the Chapel, a masterpiece of light and harmony by Jules Hardouin Mansart, where the kings attended mass. This lofty space (the ceiling is more than 25m/82 ft. high) reflects both Gothic and baroque styles, combining a vaulted roof, stained glass, and gargoyles with columns and balustrades typical of the early 18th century.
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