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Chateau de Versailles Review
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Château de Versailles 
- Category: Religious Sites
- Location: Versailles
Fodor's Review:
It's hard to tell which is larger at Château de Versailles—the world-famous château that housed Louis XIV and 20,000 of his courtiers, or the mass of tour buses and visitors standing in front of it. The grandest palace in France remains one of the marvels of the world, and its full story is covered in the special photo feature on the château in this chapter, "Gilt Trip: A Tour of Versailles." But this edifice was not just home to the Sun King, it was to be the new headquarters of the French government capital (from 1682 to 1789 and again from 1871 to 1879). To accompany the palace, a new city—in fact, a new capital—had to be built from scratch. Tough-thinking town planners took no prisoners, dreaming up vast mansions and avenues broader than the Champs-Élysées. If you have any energy left after exploring Louis XIV's palace and park, a tour of Versailles—a textbook 18th-century town—offers a telling contrast between the majestic and the domestic.
From the front gate of the palace turn left onto the Rue de l'Independence-Américaine and walk over to Rue Carnot past the stately Écuries de la Reine, once the queen's stables, now the regional law courts, to octagonal Place Hoche. Down Rue Hoche to the left is the powerful Baroque facade of Notre-Dame, built from 1684 to 1686 by Jules Hardouin-Mansart as the parish church for Louis XIV's new town.
Member Reviews & Ratings:
Wonderful palace
Posted by bachslunch from US on 11/9/08
One of the finest palaces in Europe, and an absolute must-see. Large, detailed, and impressive, with remarkable furniture, decorative art pieces, mirrored halls, stucco, sculpture, frescoes and paintings, and a fine surrounding grounds with fountains.
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