The Grands Appartements du Roi are a succession of salons, including the most spectacular room at the UNESCO-listed Versailles, the Hall of Mirrors (“Galerie des Glaces”) where the Treaty of Versailles was signed at the end of WW1. A highlight of a palace visit, the apartments were built for Louis XIV by Louis Le Vau in the 1670s.
The Grands Appartements du Roi and la Reine take up the principal floor of the wing known as the Chateau Neuf. The baroque mirror-lined hall was designed by Mansart in 1678, and features mirror-lined arched windows and gilt sculptures holding aloft crystal chandeliers. In the opulent Queen’s apartment is the golden queen’s bedchamber, whose hidden door was used by Marie-Antoinette to escape the mob during the early days of the Revolution.
Tours may offer travelers the ability to skip the lines at the entrance, take a guided tour of the Grands Appartements du Roi, and more, and take in the spectacular fountain show at night in the Versailles Gardens.
Château de Versailles is in the town of Versailles, about a 30-minute drive from Paris depending on traffic. Parking is available on the premises. The cheapest and easiest way to reach the palace is by RER train to the Versailles Château Rive Gauche stop, which costs about $8, and takes about 60 to 90 minutes.
Chateau de Versailles is open Tuesday - Sunday, 9:am - 6:30pm; from November 1 - April, 9am - 5:30pm. Come in the summer for the live musical events with costumed performers and fireworks in the gardens. Check the calendar before visiting.
Every Saturday from June through September, stay for the spectacular nighttime fountain show. In the evening, the ornate fountains of the romantic gardens come to life as master lighting and stage-effects artists create light installations at the Mirror Fountain, lasers in the dark Colonnade Grove, and fireworks in front of the Grand Canal, all synchronized to classical music.
