Architecture · Versailles, Île-de-France
Palace of Versailles
The palace of Louis XIV, with the Hall of Mirrors and gardens by André Le Nôtre.
Versailles began as a modest hunting lodge before Louis XIV transformed it from 1661 into the most lavish royal residence in Europe. In 1682 the king moved the court and government here, and the palace remained the seat of royal power until the Revolution forced Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette back to Paris in 1789.
The estate combines the vast palace, with its state apartments, Royal Chapel and Royal Opera, and hundreds of hectares of formal gardens laid out by André Le Nôtre, plus the more intimate Trianon palaces and the Queen's Hamlet. Turned into a museum of French history in 1837, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.
Highlights
- Hall of Mirrors
- King's and Queen's State Apartments
- Le Nôtre's gardens and fountains
- Trianon estate and the Queen's Hamlet
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