Day Four

Spend day four exploring Louis XIV’s mammoth Chateau de Versailles, located about 10 miles from the center of Paris. Construction began in 1661 and involved over 45,000 workers, many of whom died during the building process. There are six Grands Appartements done in the Louis XIV style, and each is named after the allegorical paintings on the ceilings. The largest and most prominent is the Hercules Salon, with a ceiling depicting the Apotheosis of Hercules. After his death, Louis XIV’s body was put on display in the Mercury Salon.

The castle’s most famous room is the Hall of Mirrors. Begun in 1678 in the Louis XIV style, it was decorated by Le Brun with 17 arched windows faced by beveled mirrors. On June 28, 1919, the treaty ending World War I was signed in the corridor.

 

Versailles boasts a luxurious Library, with intricately carved panels. The Clock Room contains a gilded bronze encased astronomical clock. Mozart played for the Louie’s court in this room when he was only seven years old. Louis XVI married Marie Antoinette in the Royal Chapel in 1770. Covering some 250 acres, the Gardens of Versailles had 1,400 running fountains at one point.