Page 170 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - France

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THE PALACE Salon de Vénus
PALACE ROOMS
AND GARDENS A statue of Louis XIV
stands amid this room’s
rich marble decor.
OF VERSAILLES
EXPERIENCE Île-de-France ! D2 ⌂ Pl d’Armes, 78000 Versaille @ Versailles Express Designed by Le Brun
Salon d’Apollon
and dedicated to the
god Apollo, this was
Louis XIV’s throne room.
from Eiffel Tower W Versailles–Château-Rive-Gauche,
Versailles Chantiers # Opening hours vary; check website
Salon de la Guerre
¢ 1 Jan, 25 Dec ∑ chateauversailles.fr
The room’s theme of
This stunning royal residence is overwhelming in its
war is dramatically
scale and opulence. The spectacular, lavishly decorated
stuccoed relief of Louis
palace and vast gardens, complete with fountains,
XIV riding to victory.
landscaped topiary and even a model farm, make reinforced by the
Versailles the top day trip from the centre of Paris.
Hall of Mirrors
The Palace This glittering room
Staring in 1668 with his father’s hunting lodge, Louis XIV built stretches 73 m (240 ft)
along the west façade
the largest palace in Europe, housing 20,000 people at a time. of this stunning palace.
Architects Louis Le Vau and Jules Hardouin-Mansart designed
the buildings, which grew as a series of “envelopes” around the Queen’s Bedroom
lodge. The Opera House was added by Louis XV in 1770. In this room, the queens
The sumptuous main apartments are on the first floor of the of France gave birth to
vast château complex. These were richly decorated by Charles the royal children in full
Le Brun with coloured marbles, stone and wood carvings, murals, public view.
velvet, silver and gilded furniture. The climax is the glorious Hall
of Mirrors, where 357 great mirrors face 17 tall arched windows.
The palace and gardens
of Versailles, the epitome
of royal grandeur

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