Betsy

My family (husband, son, 13, daughter,10) and I will be leaving for Paris in a couple of days. We'll be there for four and a half days and I'm wondering if Versailles would be of enough interest to children of these ages to spend one of our days there. Does anyone have an opinon on this?

Chris Philhower

The gardens this time of year should be beautiful. Otherwise, Versailles (the chateau part) is crowded ("smooshed" crowded) and, for the most part, unfurnished. You'd need audio guides (at the least). <BR> <BR>Informal polls among people I've met show overwhelmingly that they were disappointed with Versailles -- only one person I know "loved it". Even some French people I know didn't care for it. <BR>But, if it's a once in a lifetime type thing, don't miss it. For each one of us that says "eh, I wasn't impressed" there will be someone else who will say "ohmygosh, you DIDN'T GO TO VERSAILLES? That was the HIGHLIGHT of our trip!" You might be one of the latter group. <BR> <BR>It costs nothing to walk the gardens, just to go into the buildings -- the RER is close, and the trip is easy. You can always go there and then decide whether or not to go in! <BR> <BR>Chris

Louise

Hi Betsy <BR>It's been a long time since I was there, and I took a formal tour, which was problably a lot more informative than Chris' experience. There's a whole lot of history there (remember the Versailles Peace Treaty?), and a lot of French history what with the various Louis (don't remember which numbers right now). On the formal tour you get a lot more information about royal life of the time, which was like nothing we can imagine. Whether or not your children will be interested depends on how much they care about history. I know Chris says he didn't care for it, so I wanted you to have another view before you decide. I think it's too important historically, and such a grand place, that if you have the time, you might want to seriously consider it. The gardens are spectacular, but may cost too much in time if you decide not to have the total experience.

Chris Philhower

Oooh! I don't want to be misunderstood! <BR> <BR>I took the tour (with a human guide), which I do recommend highly. You'll get more information than you would get on your own. The guide was very interesting, and explained why there wasn't much furniture (Versailles was basically picked clean in the French Revolution). <BR> <BR>Yes, it does depend on how much your children are interested in history. Versailles is a great historical place, no doubt about that. <BR> <BR>I'm not at all sorry I went! I would have been much sorrier had I not gone. <BR> <BR>I wouldn't tell anyone not to go anywhere, but I will give an opinion (I've been known to have strong ones There have been quite a few posts about Versailles -- you might want to check them out too. <BR> <BR>I'm sorry if I gave the impression that it is "skippable" -- I really think it's just one of those things you have to see for yourself and make up your own mind. <BR>I didn't mean to scare you -- if I had known then what I know now, I'd still go. And since my visit was in October, I would like to go back to see the gardens while they're in bloom!

anne

If you decide to go AND you want to see the state apartments, I strongly recommend you go in the morning. On the other hand, I believe there's a big light and water fountain display on Saturdays that may be in the afternoon that I understand is pretty spectacular and may be a better opportunity to have it be of enough interest to the children. <BR> <BR>We went last week in the early afternoon on a Thursday and the state apartments were so crowded with tour groups that we could barely move between the rooms. In the gardens, you do have the option of renting a boat and/or bicycles to ride through the garden near the tram stop at the Grand Canal, which may increase the appeal to the children and give you a better opportunity to see more of the property. <BR> <BR>There is an area just past the Petit Trianon called the Queen's Hameau that I would guess would be very interesting to all of you. It's a minature english village in one corner of the garden, complete with a small farm and live animals (first time I've seen a goat upchuck at close range). It's not well marked with signs on the ground, but it is well marked on the maps of the chateau & garden. Go into the Petit Trianon area and it's off to the right and further back in the garden - probably about a 1/2 to 3/4 mile walk. The Grand Trianon is a small version of the chateau; if I had it to do over again, I'd probably skip it in favor of boating around the Grand Canal. <BR> <BR>The gardens should be in just about full bloom next week. We took the RER C line that had a final destination of the chateau (there are a few different endpoints, but the final destinations are clearly marked on the monitors) from the Invalides stop and it was very easy. About 40 minutes each way and I think about 40 francs round trip (about $6) apiece. Got a free concert on the way home from a high school tour group!The chateau is only about 1/2 mile from the train station. <BR> <BR>One other thing that may be useful information: the entry way is loaded with cobblestones and there's lots of the typical finely crushed gravel paths you find in French parks. I wish I had worn sneakers as the gravel gets your regular shoes really messy and the cobblestones are wearing on your feet. <BR> <BR>We spent a total of about 4 hours there, and for our taste that was plenty. Hope this helps and that you have a great trip.

Ingrid

I haven't been there with my kids (9 and 11), only by myself, but I'm sure they would love it. Tell them about the king's bedroom (with the nobility paying for the privilege to help him get dressed, that people came to watch him eat,e ct.), the fact that they didn't wash a lot, just used poweder and perfume, that they didn't relaly use restrooms, just chaned the wallpaper every now and then. (No guarantee that this is all true <BR>Marie-Antoinette's Little Farm, where she played sheperdess, is definitely interesting. I'd say, go for it! <BR>Now, when I went, I don't think we had a tour guide (at least I don't remember him/her), and I know that my kids would have the patience to listen to lengthy explanations about the art work.

Ed

I think previous posters have answered well and appropriately. <BR> <BR>What I would add is that the attraction in all these things is not necessarily going to leap out at the youngsters while they're in the midst of their visit. All of us, young and old, appreciate seeing things more the more we know about them ahead of time and can anticipate. <BR> <BR>So get the youngsters, and yourselves, involved in a bit of research/reading ahead of time. The visit will be more enjoyable for it. (And in the unlikely event they ... or you ... find that Versailles may be a big yawn for them, you'll be warned beforehand.) <BR> <BR>twenj

m

we were there with our 8 & 11 yr olds march '00. We spent a morning at versaille. we beat the worse of the crowds and were pack in paris for lunch (although we had the good fortune of having friends drive us there). That was enough for my kids, although when we were there the gardens weren't in bloom. we rented the audio tour. i think it's necessary to have some kind of tour to better understand the place. There's so much to do in Paris, that in 4 1/2 days i don't think i would want to spend a whole day in Versailles but if you manage a 1/2 (by taking train or car), it may be worth it.

Lily

Hi Betsy, <BR>We are visiting Versailles in a few weeks and I hope to enjoy it. As for children 10 & 13, my daughter, now 15, has accompanied us on many trips. Although she has not always liked everything we've done (neither have we, for that matter)she does have a much better outlook on this wonderful world than many of her peers for having "been there, done that"! My advice is - just take them, it can't hurt.

Marsha

Even though I had prepared her with a "kids'" version of history, my 8 year-old did not care for Versailles. However, it was March - cold and rainy, so we did not go out into the gardens. The tours are geared toward adults and, even in March, it was packed. If you decide to go, I would get there first thing in the morning - even if it meant leaving Paris at 6:30 a.m. I also read somewhere that you can rent bikes to ride around the grounds - I would go for any outdoor option available.

Bill I

We took our 10 yrold son to Versailles. While he somewhat liked it, he was not overly enamoured with it. Maybe alittle overwhelming, especially inside, but he did enjoy walking the gardens. This is a boy who really liked seeing Napolean's tomb, going through Rodin museum, Musee de l'armee, & all sorts of other historical things. Maybe Versailles was just too big & too much for that trip. But after all is said & done, we are glad that we took him & he is glad that he went. Now that he is 13, he can talk about it as a place that he has actually been to.

Mother

Let's face it, it is up to you <BR>as a parent to instill interest <BR>of history in your children. <BR>Make it fun, look at encyclopedias <BR>with them, make them want to see <BR>historical sites. Find out what <BR>would interest each child according <BR>to their own interests (fashion, <BR>swords, armor, toys) and stress <BR>that on a trip. <BR>