Palace of Versailles (Château de Versailles)

The Palace of Versailles, southwest of Paris, is the most famous royal residence in France and the symbol of the absolute monarchy of Louis XIV. It began as a modest hunting lodge built for Louis XIII in the 1620s. His son Louis XIV transformed it into a palace of enormous scale, with the architects Louis Le Vau and later Jules Hardouin-Mansart, the painter Charles Le Brun for the interiors and the landscape designer André Le Nôtre for the gardens. In 1682 the king moved the court and government here, and Versailles remained the centre of power until October 1789, when the royal family was brought back to Paris by the crowds of the Revolution. UNESCO inscribed it as a World Heritage site in 1979.

The most celebrated space is the Hall of Mirrors, a gallery about 73 metres long with 357 mirrors facing seventeen tall windows that open onto the gardens. It was the setting for court ceremonies and later for the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, which ended the First World War. Around it stand the king's and queen's State Apartments, the Royal Chapel, and the Royal Opera, built in the eighteenth century for the wedding of the future Louis XVI. In 1837 King Louis-Philippe turned part of the palace into a museum dedicated to the glories of France, which remains today.

The gardens are as important as the palace. Le Nôtre laid out the long axis of the Grand Canal, the parterres, groves and fountains, and in summer the Grandes Eaux and musical shows bring the water features to life. The estate also contains the Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon, smaller palaces where the court sought privacy, and the Queen's Hamlet, a rustic village created for Marie-Antoinette. In the town stands the Royal Tennis Court, linked with the Tennis Court Oath of June 1789.

The scale makes planning necessary. The palace, the gardens and the Trianon estate are separate areas, and a full visit can last a whole day, so many people choose the palace in the morning and the gardens in the afternoon. Buy tickets only from the official ticket office to avoid fake sellers, arrive early because queues build up, and check the opening days before you go. Public transport from Paris is simple, but works on the rail lines can change the best route in summer.

Versailles suits first-time visitors to France, history enthusiasts, garden lovers and families who enjoy open spaces. It is among the busiest sites in the country, and shoulder seasons and weekday mornings are calmer.