On our way
home from Chartres we made a last stop in Versailles. We didn't
visit the city, only the palace of the roi du soleil, Louis Quatorze. I'm sure
it must be an amazing place, but after spending so much time in the sober
cathedral it felt a little to 'bling bling' to us.
Versailles was actually build by Louis Treize, who loved to hunt in the area and wanted a
place to stay overnight. Yet it was Louis Quatorze who expanded the building
and made it the palace that it still is today. He left Le Louvre in Paris to elude the hustle and epidemics, and settled in the
rural Versailles
for the bigger part of his life.
We took a quick walk trough the different rooms, all stuffed with golden
details (well, not really details since everything was shiny and expensive for
sure), carpets against the walls and paintings on the ceilings. What I liked
most of the interior was the ballroom hall, with a beautiful view over the
gardens, a magnificent wooden floor and mirrors all around.
But after the overwhelming luxury we than hurried into the gardens (about 800 ha big – or should I say
huge?) to catch some sun and wonder around the fountains and statues.
I couldn't
possibly write that Versailles
is not worth visiting. After all, it is the biggest palace in Europe
and it is UNESCO cultural inheritance. I can only say we didn't enjoy it that
much, because of the contrast with our earlier stay in Chartres. I don't think I'm going to visit it
again, though different circumstances might make me like it more...
