January 22, 2014 is a day that will live on in for eternity!! I finally made it to visit Versailles and it was well worth it. That day was cloudy and kinda rainy as it usually is in Paris but also a Wednesday, therefore I had everything in my favor to see Versailles with as little amount of extra people as possible. As per usual, I had my student card to get the student discount however I got in for free!!! Since I'm under 26 and living here in France as a student I was under their "free entrance" group and I did not complain :) The ticket is usually 14 euros and with my student card I figured I'd have to pay at least half. Since I didn't have to pay the entrance fee, I decided to take their tour. They have a tour where you can see the King's apartments and the court chapel. That tour was well worth it! Not only do you get to see rooms that the general public do not get to see but you are also with a tour guide who tells you about more about Versailles. Not only did I take photos but I took notes! :D
The first room was where the guards of the King would wait for him when he wanted to leave.
The room was decorated with pictures and carvings of hunting or war. The original paintings are now at the Louvre so they have black and white copies of the originals in the places where the paintings were.
Entrance to the King's appartements
Yes, there will be a lot of pictures of doors and ceilings however they are well worth it because no one makes doors or decorates ceilings like this anymore and they should be documented.
Louis XV
This clock was found and returned to Versailles in 1998 to the King's dining room. It sparked a long conversation about the furniture in Versailles. During the Revolution in 1792, the current government, called the First Republic, at the time decided to sell the furniture in Versailles to help fund the government and pay off old debts. Versailles did not belong to the King or Queen but to the country therefore after the King and Queen were taken out of Versailles and moved to Paris, the chateau was closed. It has taken years to find and bring back the furniture that belongs to Versailles. Some of the rooms that are on display now do not have the original furniture in them but have furniture that does date to the time period however they are from other chateaus across France.
This is the King's bedroom. It has all of the original furniture as well as an exact copy of the fabric that was hung on the walls. This room was used by Louis XV and Louis XVI. Louis XV died in that bed, in this room on May 10, 1774. Louis XIV lived in a different part of Versailles that had larger rooms and were decorated much differently. Louis XV moved to these smaller rooms because they were easier to heat and were farther from the center of court to give him some privacy. He was the only member of the royal family to be in these rooms. If the Queen or his children wanted to see him, he went to them and they did not come to him. It was really his private apartments. Although the room looks very girly to a modern day person, the tour guide said this was typical for a man's room in the upper society. Every decoration is precise and organized and nothing is out of place. The flowers on the wall also are not very colorful and use very neutral countries.
looking down the hallway
This statue used is a model of a statue that used to be in the Place de Concorde. During the Terror, 1792 to 1794 during the Revolution, the Place de Concorde was where the guillotine was set up and were over 2,000 people lost their lives. From my perspective, its very ironic now that they set up a guillotine where there used to be a statue of their King. Almost like the spot was chosen to purposely show that the old regime was out and the new was in.
This clock had to be one of the coolest things I saw there. It was never sold like most of the furniture because it was sent by Louis XVI to Paris to be fixed before the Revolution began therefore it never lost. It was returned to Versailles when Louis Phillipe who was the brother to Louis XVI came back into power after Napoleon I was over ruled and the monarchy was restored. The top globe has plants going around the sun like they do in space and then the zodiac signs are also there and move around for the months. It still works and is wound once a month. It even accounts for leap year. The clock will work until December 31, 9999.
A panel on one of the doors
The King's office. The carpet is the exact same carpet that was here before the Revolution. It was originally dark blue and not brown and all the original furniture.
The King's personal desk. It had only one key which the King kept on him at all times. It was commissioned by Louis XV and was made in Germany. It was made with iron and then wood was placed on top of the iron. It weights over 1,600 lbs so needless to say this piece was not sold during the Revolution and has not moved since it was placed in this room.
The next room was the King's changing room and toilet. This was his view from the window in his bathroom.
Changing room, much smaller than I imagined.
The room outside of the changing room was decorated with watches and thermometers. Maybe to give the King the daily weather?
Louis XV's toilet
Louis XV's chamber pot
Louis XVI's toilet that had running water
The music room that has green gold
This chest was given to Versailles to pay off a debt of 15 million franks or 2 million euros.
Next was the King's personal library. These doors do not have any actual books in them but to keep with the room binders of books were cut and put behind the window to keep up the room's decor.
The table was carved from one piece of wood and is one of the two original pieces in the room. The rest are from a chateau in the northern part of France.
This chest is the most expensive piece that Versailles has bought since the furniture was sold. It is the second piece that is original to the room. It was bought for 17 million franks or 10 million euros in 1999.
The King's formal dining room that he used with those in his closes circle after they went on a hunt.
Porcelaine made in Limoges, France for the King. Every year the Limoges porcelain plants would show their newest collection in this room and the room next door.
The card room
The court chapel
Where the King and Queen sat during daily mass
After this the tour was over and I got to wander the rest of Versailles like an average person.
a model view of how large Versailles actually is
the first Versailles
The gardens of Versailles
the fourth chapel during the early 1700s but changed to a ballroom in the 1800s
the formal waiting room to Louis XIV bedroom
Louis XIV
billard hall for Louis XIV
Guard's room
Louis XIV's private bedroom as you can tell from the contrast to Louis XV's room its much more decant and huge! It had to be twice the size and it is easy to see why Louis XV wanted to move.
the Hall of Mirrors!!
hey look who I found! the cutest tourist of the day :)
The King's bed chamber for the last 14 years of his life
I love how the bed has tuffs of feathers. No idea why beds need feathers like that but its super cool
This plaque is dedicated to those who helped pay for the restoration of the King's room. Everything in this room is original.
The King's view from his window
Council room
This was the King's apartments that I got to see. When the Kings were staying in these rooms this door was always closed.
I found a random deer head and I still have no idea why it is up.
the queen's appartments
once the room of the Queen's bedroom but it was changed to the Queen's office and was left styled as Marie Antoinette has it.
a fire guard that has Marie Antoinette's initials sewn onto it
the way the royal table was arranged for meals
these tapestries were hung in the guard room for the Queen
Queen Marie-Antoinette
This room was dedicated to the success of Napoleon I
Coronation of Josephine Bonaparte
The only room dedicated to the Revolution however it only commemorates the first few years and doesn't go past 1792.
right off of the 1792 hall was a staircase that lead to this staircase. I could only imagine what it was once used for maybe the servants? or those who worked in the chateau?
Since it was cold and rainy and there was a Starbucks near the metro stop, I got a coffee. Well apparently my name is now Vanessa and not Melissa.
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