Page 252 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Paris

250  P ARIS AREA B Y AREA

j The Palace and Gardens of Versailles

Visitors passing through the rich interior of
this colossal palace, or strolling in its vast
gardens, will under stand why it was the glory
of the Sun King’s reign. Starting in 1668 with
his father’s modest hunting lodge, Louis XIV
built the largest palace in Europe, housing
20,000 people at a time. Architects Louis Le
Vau and Jules Hardouin-Mansart designed . Formal Gardens
the buildings, Charles Le Brun did the Geometric paths and
interiors, and André Le Nôtre, the great shrubberies are features
landscaper, redesigned the gardens. The of the formal gardens.
gardens are formally styled into regular
patterns of paths and groves, hedges and
flowerbeds, pools of water and fountains.

. The Château
Louis XIV made the château into the
centre of political power in France
(see pp252–5).

KEY
1 The Water Parterre’s vast pools
are decorated with bronze statues.
2 The Fountain of Latona
features marble basins topped
with Balthazar Marsy’s statue of
the goddess Latona.
3 The South Parterre’s shrubbery
and ornate flowerbeds overlook
the Swiss pond.
4 The Orangery was built
beneath the Parterre du Midi to
house exotic plants in winter. Fountain of
5 The King’s Garden with Mirror Neptune
Pool is a 19th-century English
garden and pool created by
Louis XVIII.
6 The Grand Canal was the Dragon Fountain
setting for Louis XIV’s many The fountain’s
boating parties. centrepiece is a
winged monster.

250-251_EW_Paris.indd 250 03/04/17 10:57 am
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Starsight template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2)
Date 3rd September 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm