Palace of Versailles

Louis XIV, the Sun King, was a proud and arrogant man who wanted to be the center of attention at all times; he could not countenance being outdone in lavishness by anyone, and certainly not his finance minister. To succeed Fouquet, Louis chose Jean-Baptiste Colbert, a man famous for his parsimony and for giving the dullest parties in Paris. Colbert made sure that any money liberated from the treasury went straight into Louis’s hands. With the money, Louis built a palace even more magnificent than Fouquet’s—the glorious palace of Versailles. He used the same architects, decorators, and garden designer. And at Versailles, Louis hosted parties even more extravagant than the one that cost Fouquet his freedom.

The 48 Laws Of Power

by Robert Greene

Visit the garden, trianons, etc the first day and the palace the 2nd day.

It’s really not that great if you go in November / winter months. I suppose it would be prettier if you go in the springs when the gardens are nicer.

This may seem really obvious to everyone, but my tip is: make sure you bring extra batteries to your camera.

When I was there, some 5 years ago, my photocamera and my videocamera died simultaneously. No joke! So I have nothing from my visit there…not cool at all…=( Because of this, I’m definitely going back. It was stunning!

I thought it was a little run down. Based on things I heard before visiting, the size of the palace and the gardens were what I expected. I thought the interior of the palace would be fancier, but maybe I’ve just been to enough palaces in Europe that I’m not so impressed anymore.

What I didn’t expect was that large pool after the gardens. We walked all the way to it through the gardens from the palace, and rented a rowboat for a half hour. It was a nice way to relax after being on our feet for such a long time. The only thing I was afraid of was the boat tipping and falling into that water. It looked kind of murky and I wasn’t sure what might be in there.