Versailles

Monday, June 15, 2009

Versailles is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and is still an important administrative and judicial center. About 86,000 people live there.Versailles was once the unofficial capital city of the kingdom of France. Undoubtedly one of the prettiest sites we'll encounter, The Versailles Palace was originally built by Louis XIII as a hunting lodge because of the acreage. It later became home to kings of France for 100 years. The gardens are exquisite, covering over 250 acres of land to this day. The main designer of the gardens was Andre Le Notre it took him about 15

Versailles Garden In The Spring

years to complete the gardens.

Things to look for on our trip:

• Apotheosis of Hercules
• Christ at supper with Simon
• Louis XVI's "butterfly" cabinet
• Marie-Antoinette's Chinese vase
• Glass mirror panels

The Palace is also worth noting because:

• 2,800 windows (600 are stained glass)
• 700 rooms (28 are bathrooms)
• 1 million visitors each year
• The most Famous gardens in France
• Versailles was used as a model for the building of Washington D.C. (the grid and layout of the city were very modern for European standards).

By: Josie Olsen