Best things to do in Versailles

Considered the most illustrious and opulent castle in all of France, Palace of Versailles exemplifies the most beautiful achievements of French art in the 18th century. This former seat of royal power now chronicles the country's past as a museum of the history of France. On your exploration of the numerous buildings, be sure to see the the lavish Hall of Mirrors, the Queen’s bedchamber, the ecclesiastical chapels, and the King's Grand Apartments. If you love books, don’t miss the library, with its delicately carved wooden and stone panels. In the Clock Room, admire the famous astronomical clock encased in bronze. Arrive as early as possible to avoid long entrance lines. Even with advanced tickets, you'll have to wait your turn at the security checkpoint. Alternatively, book a local guide service to bring you to the château and skip the long lines altogether.

Your visit to Fondation Claude Monet starts in a little blue sitting room painted with that same colors that Monet chose. Restorations include period decorations, such as cement tiles made in Rouen, brightly painted furniture, and copper pots that contrast the cheerful blue walls of the large kitchen. Throughout the house, you'll see Monet's personal collection of over 200 Japanese woodblocks and works of art by his Impressionist contemporaries. When you stroll across the Japanese bridge, commissioned by Monet, admire the water lilies rising from the pond, which were also inspired by Japanese garden design. Low hedges separate the garden's plots, each with its own theme, harmony, shape, composition, and color palette. Look out for rare plant varieties and wisteria planted by Monet himself.

Renowned for magnificent interiors and the collection of furniture, tapestries, and objets d'art, Chateau de Cheverny has belonged to the same family for over six centuries. They own a pack of about seventy hunting dogs that live on the grounds, and you can watch them being fed on the live video feed. Guided tours offer added fun as you drive an electric car or boat to discover the grounds. A walk down to the guardroom leads you to a collection of arms and armor, while venturing further brings you to the Chambre du Roi that is richly hung with five Parisian tapestries designed by Simon Vouet to represent the story of Ulysses. Your visit to the castle includes a look at the fictional castle by author and illustrator, Hergé, the creator of the "Adventures of Tintin," who used Cheverny as his inspiration.

Chateau de Chambord is the quintessential monument to the flamboyance of French kings; all the grandeur with a dash of delightful whimsy. A dreamscape of turrets and towers rises from the terrace, resulting in its trademark silhouette that has often been likened to the skyline of a city. François I built it to serve as his hunting lodge and it is surrounded by forests that serve as a perfect lead-in to the jaw-dropping first glimpse. The Castle is a perfect example of sixteenth-century Renaissance architecture. When inside, don't miss the famed double helix stairways, rumored to have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Explore its vaulted hallways, 400 palatial rooms, decorative staircases, and end your visit by taking a walk in the sprawling gardens.

Take a peek into Marie Antoinette’s favorite places to get away from the pomp of Versailles at The Trianons & The Hamlet. Walk across the gardens or ride the petit train to reach the Grand Trianon decked out in pink marble. The Petit Trianon and the surrounding park reflect the queen's eclectic, free-thinking nature through their rural, rustic surroundings. Inside The Petit Trianon, see her modest bedchamber and simple furnishings. At Le Hameau (Hamlet), survey the ill-fated queen's retreat overlooking Grand Trianon Lake, where the environment stands in stark contrast to the formal gardens at Versailles.

Considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic cathedral architecture, Chartres Cathedral still has the majority of original stained glass windows intact, while the architecture has had only minor changes since the early 13th century. Come to venerate its most famous relic, the "Sancta Camisa," alleged to be the tunic worn by the Virgin Mary during Christ's birth.

The building's exterior is dominated by heavy flying buttresses with large the windows, while the west end is dominated by two contrasting spires: a 105 m (349 ft) plain pyramid completed in 1160 CE and a 113 m (377 ft) early 16th-century flamboyant spire on top of an older tower. Equally notable are the three façades, each adorned with hundreds of sculpted figures illustrating key theological themes.

The Hall of Mirrors is the central gallery of the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France.As the principal and most remarkable feature of King Louis XIV of France's third building campaign of the Palace of Versailles, construction of the Hall of Mirrors began in 1678. To provide for the Hall of Mirrors as well as the salon de la guerre and the salon de la paix, which connect the grand appartement du roi with the grand appartement de la reine, architect Jules Hardouin Mansart appropriated three rooms from each apartment as well as the terrace that separated the two apartments.The principal feature of this hall is the seventeen mirror-clad arches that reflect the seventeen arcaded windows that overlook the gardens. Each arch contains twenty-one mirrors with a total complement of 357 used in the decoration of the galerie des glaces. The arches themselves are fixed between marble pilasters whose capitals depict the symbols of France. These gilded bronze capitals include the fleur-de-lys and the Gallic cockerel or rooster. Many of the other attributes of the Hall of Mirrors were lost to war for financial purposes, such as the silver table pieces and guéridons, which were melted by order of Louis XIV in 1689 to finance the War of the League of Augsburg.ConstructionIn the 17th century, mirrors were among the most expensive items to possess at the time; the Venetian Republic held the monopoly on the manufacture of mirrors. In order to maintain the integrity of his philosophy of mercantilism, which required that all items used in the decoration of Versailles be made in France, Jean-Baptiste Colbert enticed several workers from Venice to make mirrors at the Manufacture royale de glaces de miroirs. According to legend, in order to keep its monopoly, the government of the Venetian Republic sent agents to France to poison the workers whom Colbert had brought to France.

With several wings to explore, Chateau Royal de Blois is sure to peek your curiosity about everything from archaeological texts from the Middle Ages to the massive collection of restored murals. Discover French architecture from the Middle Ages to the 17th century, then visit the chamber of secrets, whispered to be Catherine de Médici's secret hiding place for poisons.

As the residence of several French kings, in 1429, the Archbishop of Reims blessed Joan of Arc before she departed with her army to drive the English from Orléans. Your visit is complete with an audio tour, in English available for download to your mp3 player, of the on-site Museum of Fine Arts. It is located in the royal apartments of François I and the Louis XII wing and contains more than 30,000 works.

Unlike at busy Château de Versailles, the lack of crowds at Chateau de Fontainebleau means you're free to enjoy this palace almost as its inhabitants did in centuries past. This was the preferred residence of French kings and emperors for seven centuries. François I made the palace his permanent residence in 1527--breathing new life into the ruins with origins dating back to 1137. A succession of kings worked to further rehabilitate the castle, which is where Marie de Medici delivered her baby, who later became King Louis XIII. See where Napoléon I addressed his subjects after the French Revolution as you step into the Emperor's Throne Room. Italian artists Rosso and Primatice decorated the interior with frescoes, which you can still view today.

Located on what locals refer to as the "Parisian Riviera," Deauville Beach remains a prominent landmark of this seaside resort. The most notable features of the sandy beach are colorful parasols and a 1920s boardwalk lined with art deco changing booths. Notice how every booth bears the name of a film star--not surprising, given that the town hosts the American Film Festival. Sports enthusiasts can choose between tennis, volleyball, basketball, and soccer facilities; go speed sailing, kayaking, windsurfing on the water; or horseback ride along the shore. Those with a love for laps can swim in the seawater Olympic pool.

In the gardens of Versailles, Grand Canal forms part of a grandiose cross oriented to reflect the setting sun. The cross-shaped body of water creates a long perimeter of 5.5 km (3.4 mi). Louis XIV used to hold boating parties here, and now you can rent a boat to paddle yourself, or hire a guide to row for you.

The Hameau de la Reine (French pronunciation: ​[amo də la ʁɛn], The Queen's Hamlet) is a rustic retreat in the park of the Château de Versailles built for Marie Antoinette in 1783 near the Petit Trianon in Yvelines, France. It served as a private meeting place for the Queen and her closest friends; a place of leisure. Designed by the Queen's favoured architect, Richard Mique, with the help of the painter Hubert Robert, it contained a meadowland with a lake and various buildings in a rustic or vernacular style, inspired by Norman or Flemish design, situated around an irregular pond fed by a stream that turned a mill wheel. The building scheme included a farmhouse, (the farm was to produce milk and eggs for the queen), a dairy, a dovecote, a boudoir, a barn that burned down during the French Revolution, a mill and a tower in the form of a lighthouse. Each building is decorated with a garden, an orchard or a flower garden. The largest and most famous of these houses is the "Queen's House", connected to the Billiard house by a wooden gallery, at the center of the village. A working farm was close to the idyllic, fantasy-like setting of the Queen's Hamlet.

The hameau is the best-known of a series of rustic garden constructions built at the time, notably the Prince of Condé's Hameau de Chantilly (1774–1775) which was the inspiration for the Versailles hamlet. Such model farms, operating under principles espoused by the Physiocrats, were fashionable among the French aristocracy at the time. One primary purpose of the hameau was to add to the ambiance of the Petit Trianon, giving the illusion that it was deep in the countryside rather than within the confines of Versailles. The rooms at the hameau allowed for more intimacy than the grand salons at Versailles or at the Petit Trianon.

Abandoned after the French Revolution, it was renovated a first time under Napoleon I, then in the 1930s and again in late 1990. Buildings are still being periodically renovated until this day. It is open to the public.