Wow, surprised at all the people telling us to skip the Louvre; I don’t think that’s in the cards at all. We left the last time thinking to ourselves how little we’d seen, and it’s definitely in the top-few things to do. In fact, this will actually be my third time in Paris - I didn’t mention the first because it was way back when I was a teenager, but the one thing I remember well from that trip was loving the Louvre. I think Orsay is higher up because we haven’t been there at all and it’s convenient.
Well, we’re already booked in Paris, and we can’t change it without losing our deposit, so I don’t think we’d do that. And from what I read, getting there early isn’t a guarantee that you’ll beat the crowds; in fact, most of what seem the reputable things I read say “go see the gardens and the Petite Trianon first, THEN go see the palace in the afternoon because the crowds just might be smaller.”
Leaning towards skipping Versailles; seems to me we have enough to do in Paris proper to keep us busy for 3 days. Like I said, we’re sloooow travelers. We’d be happy if we had one activity planned per day, and then winged the rest of it.
I went in January, so the crowds were considerably less than during prime season. Still it was relatively crowded.
Honestly, I found the experience disappointing. Versailles is supposed to be the largest royal palace in the world, but actually a very small proportion of the rooms are accessible to the public.
Also, having visited even small historical sites in the United States, I am accustomed to a lot more detailed re-enactment and the like.
You get to see some of the most sumptuous chambers, but I was curious about what must have been massive staff, service, and work areas. Where were the kitchens? How many people worked there? There’s very little illumination into the life of the palace.
The art collections at Versailles are nothing compared to what you see in Paris.
Being there in winter, I wasn’t expecting much from the grounds, but I was surprised to see them looking like just a vast plain of mud. Maybe that is historically accurate for the season though.
Also, the neighborhood around the palace, although cute, doesn’t really have enough facilities and services for a large number of visitors. We ended up having lunch at the nearest eatery–a McDonald’s, which seem to be very popular amongst Parisians.
Of course, all my complaints might be related to the timing of my visit. As it happened though, I feel like I should have spent that day doing more things in Paris, which I loved, even in cold, sleeting January. I could have gone to Père Lachaise, which I didn’t get to otherwise.
Is it the kind of thing where you could decide once you’re there? I think if you wake up to a glorious weather day, where the gardens would be an absolutely delightful way to spend some time (if you like scenic gardens), that would be a good option for Versailles. And at Versailles, I think the gardens and the Petit Trianon are the most interesting part.
Versailles itself, while amazing, is a lot of itself, if that makes sense. Again, awesome if you love it, but I agree with Acsenray that you’re essentially walking through a really large environment where you’re always looking at how opulent and beautiful it is. You’re not really experiencing any of the workings of it. The other thing, which surprises some visitors, is that for the most part, it isn’t furnished and accessorized as it would have been then, which is great for appreciating the architecture and interior decoration, but doesn’t really convey an historic sense of daily royal life. As a fan of visiting historic sites, that aspect seems a little thin to me. (Which is also why I find the Petit Trianon more interesting, there’s more of that going on there.)
If you are the kind of traveler who likes leisurely walking around in an environment and soaking up the ambiance, I think Versailles is a great choice provided it is a good weather day. If you (and your party) likes to GO SEE STUFF, Versailles is a bit of a trek go see A Thing, and it eats up a lot of your day. Unlike say the Louvre, if you decide you’ve had enough of Versailles, you can’t pop out and go do something else.
Well, I’m guessing we’re not going to be super early risers by default in Paris, given the time difference, and since Versailles isn’t something you can pop over to for a couple hours, I don’t think we can do a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing.
I always thought that they should have a special day once or twice a month where they get in a crew or people - have a ‘royal court’ of the king and queen, a selection of courtiers, a handful of gardeners, a handful of front palace servants, and then a kitchen crew preparing a meal all in persona and costume behaving like the tourists were not there at all. Charge a larger reservation only entrance fee, restrict it to ticketholders only and each group run through that day has a tourguide provided.
It would be so freaking great to actually see a microcosm of the Sun King’s day appropriate to that month [Each month more or less has different type of foods and clothing, and common activities - a nice summer day might see them out enjoying a brunch in the garden, winter might be card games in front of a fire, or chamber music and coffee.]
Back in the 70s I remember we were on some sort of special tour for students - they ran us through about 10 rooms, then turned us loose in the gardens to wander around. You could still do about the same, Hall of Mirrors, one of the smaller dining rooms, one of the smaller reception rooms [living rooms to us =)] one of the state bedrooms, kitchen, then out into the gardens.
Yes, it’s a row of sumptuously decorated rooms arranged in a way that you know couldn’t have been of practical use. And some of the decor is simply atrocious. I couldn’t get through Marie Antoinette’s bedroom fast enough, it was so horrible. For the amount of money spent on that stuff, it seems to have been put together by people with absolutely no aesthetic sense. I imagined it was the kind of gaudily expensive but tasteless choices that Donald Trump makes.
It’s definitely worth seeing. Find out which evenings the fountains will be working, and lit, and see if you can be there for that without buying a ticket that includes “period music and dance” . . . unless you enjoy standing in the Hall of Mirrors with hundreds of other bored people, experiencing period music and dance for more than an hour. Some of the people had small children with them, and I don’t know how they kept their sanity.
And the last time I was there, they had installed some huge modern sculpture on the grounds, including some at the entrance. They looked like the rusty remains of part of the ribcage of a huge dinosaur. It was obscenely inappropriate in that location.
I agree with Acsenray and Delphica…I would much prefer to see the behind the scenes workings of royal palaces and the decor as presented doesn’t look like anyone ever actually lived there. I was there two years ago in March and all of the ornamental trees and flower urns were still in their winter burlap and none of the fountains were on. It was a beautiful day tho so still worth the visit. By April the gardens should be looking nicer and the fountains should be on. It does take up the better part of a day but if you’ve already seen the major sights in the city, it seems a shame to miss Versailles. In April the crowds would probably still be manageable.
[QUOTE=delphica]
You’re not really experiencing any of the workings of it. The other thing, which surprises some visitors, is that for the most part, it isn’t furnished and accessorized as it would have been then, which is great for appreciating the architecture and interior decoration, but doesn’t really convey an historic sense of daily royal life.
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[QUOTE=kbear]
I agree with Acsenray and Delphica…I would much prefer to see the behind the scenes workings of royal palaces and the decor as presented doesn’t look like anyone ever actually lived there.
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It’s not that simple. In terms of the grands appartements, which is only the bit most visitors visit, there was never that much in the way of furniture anyway, so the present décor isn’t actually that misleading. But what is missing are the paintings. And the reason the paintings you see in Paris are so much better is that the paintings that were at Versailles are mostly those now in the Louvre. Which isn’t likely to be returning them anytime soon. (That said, they really ought to do a temporary exhibition of the original picture hang - all the paintings survive and where precisely they were hung is known.)
As for the rest of the palace, one must remember that whole swathes were gutted in the nineteenth century, a fact that would be more obvious to visitors if it was easier to get to see the various Louis-Phillippe galleries (other than the Galerie des Batailles). The same problem applies with the kitchens. Those too have been radically altered and that building now houses the various administrative offices.
But then there are the bits that everyone forgets about, which are easily accessible and which do give a sense of court life. The various private apartments, which is where the Royal Family actually lived, are reasonably intact and mostly well-furnished. Best of all, those can only be visited by taking a tour, so whether the rest of the building is heaving with tourists is irrelevant. Some of the tours are in English. That doesn’t mean that you should miss the Hall of Mirrors etc., but you can feel less guilty if there you just go with the flow of the crowds mindlessly tramping through them.
I was there back in 97’ and had to jog my memory by looking at some google images. Maybe they changed it up but I remember the rooms to be poorly lit and extremely dim and looking nothing like the brightly lit stock photos.
I must have went in the winter also since the gardens while expansive and impressive in size had nothing in them.
I’d probably pass if I went to Paris again and spend more time at Montemarte, along the Seine, in Pere Lachaise, or down in the catacombes.
If you’ve already been to Paris then definitely see them. The fountains of Versailles are one of my all-time favorite experiences. I was there in April 2012 and it was not crowded at all (the weather that day was poor so that may have contributed) and got to see almost every fountain working.
I didn’t find the buildings all the exciting. The Hall of Mirrors, the chapel, and the Napoleon (?) rooms were nice but I wouldn’t have said they were worth going out to see. The fountains made it all worth it.
OP, can’t really say about Versailles (to my shame, even though I live here, I’ve only been once, on a school trip, when I was 12) but bear in mind that while late April is before tourist season begins in earnest, it’ll be school holidays for all three of our administrative zones. The Parisians get back to school the earliest, on the 28th, the other two staying on vacation until the first week of May.
Which is both good and bad news for your trip : the good news is, a whole lot of Parisians won’t be there, so less of a chance to get randomly grouched at :). Bad news is, there’ll likely be plenty of other Frenchies with their kids at every tourist venue.
Also, I’d skip Montmartre. Ever since Amélie it’s the most rip-offy of all our tourist rip-offs, which is saying something. Like, there’s gently screwing foreigners over a cup of coffee ; which is traditional, expected, quaint even ; and there’s bending them over a barrel to star in a surprise donkey show while being aggressively played accordion at over a cup of coffee, if you get my meaning
On the other hand, if you’re up for the detour since it’s a bit out of the way of other sights but want a nice, lazy promenade or picnic under the sun, the Parc des Buttes Chaumont is particularly nice in the spring. The Père Lachaise cemetary is not too far from it though - I don’t get visiting famous graves myself, but my better half loves the place so I thought I’d mention it.
Montmartre was my favorite part of Paris. We downloaded an excellent self-guided walking tour and walked all over for the entire day with stops at several galleries and historical sites, starting and ending at Pigalle and the moulin Rouge.
You should still expect long lines and crowd and plan your visit accordingly. French school children get a 2 week spring break that will stretch right through into May this year. Other Europeans also travel to Paris during their own spring breaks. Lines for the Louvre and Eiffel Tower were 4-6 hours long when I was in Paris the weekend after Easter a few years ago, it was crazy.
When my wife and I visited Paris, we realised that we hadn’t visited Versailles yet and the only day we had left was Monday, when the palace is closed. I thought it wouldn’t be worth taking the train out there if we couldn’t even see the palace, but my wife insisted. I’m glad she did – we spent the whole day walking through the gardens, rowing on the Grand Canal and looking at the fountains and the buildings (from the outside), and we loved it! And since the palace was closed, there were no crowds at all.
We were able to skip the outrageously long security line in the courtyard by paying about 1 Euro extra for the tour. You go over to the right hand side of the courtyard into a smaller waiting area and they just take you right through, show you some areas you only get on the tour, then you are let out into the rest of the palace with all the crowds. Not sure, but you may even be able to skip the ticket queue on the left of the courtyard by going straight to the right and buying the tour+ticket from there.
