Back Versailles

The Hall of Mirrors, French gardens, marble pavilions and Baroque fountains... All the splendours of the Palace of Versailles, the origin of the myth of the Sun King, never cease to dazzle and delight each visitor! The little ‘house of cards’ that was Versailles in 1623 only became a true palace little by little through the work orchestrated by the architect Le Vau. The construction of an 'enclosure' surrounding the old buildings like a splendid case, a central terrace inspired by the Baroque villas of Italy, and the different wings continued until 1684 and was further improved later. The marvellous Hall of Mirrors, an explicit symbol of the influence of the royal power, is quite simply the crowning achievement of the palace of Versailles!

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For the gardens, Le Nôtre developed the archetype of the "French garden" by combining the geometric rigour of a symmetrical layout with the extravagance of Baroque statutes at the bend of a path or in a fountain. Not far from the palace, the pavilions of the Trianon are a ‘little palace of marble and porphyry with delightful gardens,' a calmer and less flamboyant place of relaxation. Among the masterpieces housed at Versailles, mention should also be made of 'the Apotheosis of Hercules,' the 'Louis XIV’s Commode,' the beginnings of the rocaille style, a painting by Veronese, 'The Feast in the house of Simon,' and many other beautiful works that await discovery...