On a whim, we decided to spend our fifth (and last!) day in Paris at Versailles after seeing a sign posted on the Metro the day before that said you could get to Versailles in 20 minutes by RER. So we hopped on the train that Wednesday morning, and arrived at the foot of the Sun King’s gilded gate in less than an hour. Who knew it was so quick and easy to get from Paris to Versailles?!
We toured the palace and marveled at the beauty, grandeur and utter excess that is Versailles, and began exploring the grounds (which are completely free and open to the public!) when it began to rain. I was a little disappointed at first, but the rain ended up to be a blessing in disguise as it cleared a lot of people out, so you could really take in the beauty sans tour groups.
After making our way down the Royal Path, lined with classical marble sculptures, we took a right at the Grand Canal and headed towards Le Petit Trianon and La Hameau de la Reine. By this time it was all our pouring rain, so luckily we had the presence of mind to pack an umbrella earlier that morning which kept us somewhat dry during this 20 minute walk. It’s quite a trek, but a beautiful one at that, even amidst a downpour!
I find Marie Antoinette’s story and personal life super intriguing, so it was fun to visit her ‘sacred place,’ Le Petit Trianon, a small palace gifted to 19-year-old, Marie, by her husband, Louis XVI, upon his accession to the throne. Le Petit Trianon was Marie Antoinette’s little, private haven where she could escape the formality of the court and shake off the burden of her royal responsibilities.
While the palace of Versailles is all out stunning, I think my favorite part was La Hameau de la Reine, a rustic retreat near Le Petit Trianon, reminiscent of a traditional Austrian village that Marie Antoinette had built as a place to really get back to basics and further escape the pomp of Versailles. It was a working farm in it’s day, complete with loads of farm animals, a cremerie, vegetable gardens, and a fish pond. Any guests to the Queen’s farm needed to be personally invited, including Louis XVI, and they had to be casually or modestly dressed during their visit.
Though it rained intermittently throughout the day, by the time we made it to Marie Antoinette’s Hameau, the sun began to peek it’s little head out making our stroll through the village a beautiful one. The walking paths are very natural and overgrown–I suspect just the way Marie had intended them to be–with lots of blooming lilacs and wild flowers at every turn. It was a nice change of pace from the bustling city streets of Paris to be surrounded by so much greenery and quiet at least for a little while.
