Paris » Gallery #4: The Gardens of Versailles
Day 8 of our trip – 6 June 2002:
The weather cleared up the day after our visit to the Louvre, so we decided to make a day-trip out to Versailles to see the Gardens and Palace (a.k.a. the "château"). This was my third trip to see Versailles, most recently in 1986, but I have to admit that I don't think I would ever get sick of Versailles. I rank it as among the top three places to visit in all of Europe. King Louis XIV had Versailles built more or less to overwhelm everyone who visited it with its size, grandeur and beauty, and I think he succeeded – he sure did with us.
The best time to see the château itself seems to be either right after it opens in the morning (around 9:30), before all the tour buses roll in, or after 3pm, when the tour buses begin leaving. We opted for the latter, and got out to Versailles about 10am. We then strolled very leisurely through the extensive and myriad gardens, had a little picnic lunch next to the Grand Canal (which was the inspiration for the mall in Washington, D.C.), and rented some bikes and rode around the grounds for a while. I highly recommend that as a way to see the Grand Trianon and Small Trianon, as well as a large part of the Gardens.
One of the best features of the Gardens is the numerous fountains and ponds. The fountains usually only run on Sundays and special occasions, though. So, since we were there on a Thursday, the fountains weren't active. Bummer. In addition, there are dozens of sculptures strewn throughout the Gardens, all of which are "museum-quality", so you are literally walking through an outdoor art exhibit. Pictures of the Gardens follow.
 The South Parterre, next to the Orangery |
 The Orangery |
 The Fountain of Latona |
 The Parterre of Latona |
 The Ballroom Grove (grandstand) |
 The Ballroom Grove (stage) |
 large candlestand in the Ballroom Grove |
 John and Gabriel walking in the Gardens |
 Gabriel in the Queen's Grove |
 Close-up of Gabriel |
 A section of the King's garden. |
 A floral section of the King's Garden. |
 The Fountain of Winter |
 The Colonnade |
 The Tapis Vert and Grand Canal |
 The Fountain of Apollo |
 The Tapis Vert |
 Michelle cycling with Gabriel |
 Michelle cycling with Gabriel II |
 The Grand Canal |
 Gabriel drinking from a water bottle |
 Gabriel enjoys our picnic |
 The Fountain of Spring |
 The North Parterre |
 John and Gabriel at the Water Parterre |