Versailles

The palace of Versailles defies description. Its opulence, grandeur and magnificence cannot really be conveyed through words or photos. I have been to Versailles three times and I still feel like I've not seen it all.

Although the palace is closed on Mondays for maintenance, the grounds are open to visitors. It was easier for me to imagine what it might have been like for Marie Antoinette to walk the grounds when there were fewer people around.

Photo credits: Ingrid Mida, 2009

I highly recommend the book "Versailles, Biography of a Palace" by Tony Spawforth (which I reviewed on May 25, 2009). As well, "Marie Antoinette and the Last Garden of Versailles" by Christian Duvernois and Francois Halard is hauntingly beautiful with photos of the gardens as they exist today (which I reviewed on April 7, 2009).

P.S. I know many of you have been patiently waiting for my post on the court costume exhibition "Fastes de Cour et Ceremonies Royales". I promise to post it tomorrow.

Versailles
01 30 83 78 00
www.chateauversailles.fr