Visiting Versailles - Part 2
A Garden Fit for A King
When the time comes to visit Versailles, it’s the gardens that take the cake (pun intended). The palace is amazing, and the hall of mirrors will take your breath away, but you’ll be sharing that experience with several hundred other people at the same time, so they might be sucking some of that air as well.
The gardens, on the other hand, are spectacular and provide the space to experience the splendor of this place as a whole. We were there in mid-October, and I can only imagine how amazing it would be earlier in the year.
Don’t Forget Your Map
The gardens are like a neighborhood and contain other homes and an actual neighborhood, but you’re going to want a map if ever plan on actually finding them.
The gardens and estate as a whole, are bordered by a fence, but it’s easy to lose your point of reference due to the rows of all shrubs and trees.
We spent the better part of a day walking through the gardens, but still didn’t get to see everything, so if you’re limited on time or energy, I recommend bee-lining it to the Queen's Hamlet, which is the entirely fake world which Marie Antoinette had constructed for her amusement, complete with working gardens and fake historical ruins.
We didn’t tour the other palaces on the grounds, but we did attempt to make it to many of the groves and fountains, unfortunately, due to an impending rainstorm, our time got cut short and we missed a few.
Should You Visit Versailles?
All in all, I say yes. Would I recommend trying to see it all in one day, no thanks.