After five days on intense visiting within Paris, it was time for a little escape out of town! I was hoping the crowd would be smaller, as Versailles is a good hour outside of Paris… But no, a lot of people still showed up! After all, Versailles is in the must-see of most people!
Even though the line looked pretty long, we were able to get in pretty fast (read 45-50 minutes). That’s one of the most awesome perks of visiting Paris during fall! You get in a lot faster than you would in the summer (plus it’s not crazy hot while you’re waiting, either!) We were so lucky to get a sunny day! They were a bit rare while we were there.
We started our tour of Versailles inside the castle itself! I must admit, it wasn’t my favorite part. Yes, it’s absolutely gorgeous, but there was just SO MANY PEOPLE. Seriously, I’m not usually a person who hates crowds, but during the few hours that we were inside, I wanted to kick everybody. It was almost impossible to take a picture without another tourist in it, except if you decide to photograph the ceiling. I just wanted to get a chance to feel the luxury of the palace, but I just ended up getting to the end of it as fast as possible, because I couldn’t handle the crowd. That’s why, if you want to visit a place that looks similar to Versailles, but without the crowd, just go to the Opera! It’s not on most people’s radar and it has some pretty awesome rooms! It might not have been a royal palace, but it’s still pretty fancy!
Chris was absolutely fascinated by this thing that looks like a spoon. I don’t get it, but he had a lot of fun wondering what use it had, even though it was probably just a piece of art… But after all, that’s what art is there for right? Make people wonder.
The gardens of Versailles were much nicer than the castle itself! We were finally able to breathe and enjoy ourselves. We left the crowd as quickly as we could, walking in the small woods to get deeper into the garden. It was a very beautiful day and even though the fountains weren’t working (they only work on certain specific day and the entrance fee is a bit higher), we still enjoyed our time there! I bet it would have been amazing to see the fountains (which, if I remember correctly, still use the old water system), but we had a tight schedule. If you can make it, I was told the extra is more than worth it!
As we were walking along the pool/lake, we decided going for a little boat ride would be quite fun! So we got a ticket, jumped on one and had the hardest time ever paddling with it! I don’t know what was wrong with our boat exactly, but it kept going left and right and left and right, never straight. I thought Chris was the one who didn’t know how to paddle, so I tried it too (hoping I would magically fix everything), but the same thing happened to me too. Too bad! It was still a lot of fun and we got to rest our legs for a little while, while our arms took over.
Next, we walked toward the Marie-Antoinette’s Estate and the Trianon. Our tickets included those too, and they were a lot less crowded than the castle was. It was actually quite charming, considering we were there during the sunset. It’s a bit of a walk to get there, but definitely worth it. A tour of Versailles isn’t complete without a visit to those places.
Our last stop was at the farm, which was the cutest spot in Versailles. The village looked straight out of the 1700’s and I could easily imagine people farming the land and taking care of the gardens. There was also a few animals, which I was surprised to see as we weren’t in the high season anymore. (According to my pamphlet, animals were only there during the high season.) But we got to see a bunch of goats and sheep, as well as three donkeys. It was the perfect ending to a great day! (And it made us forget about our anger from the morning, haha!)
STAY TUNED FOR MORE POSTS ABOUT OUR WEEK IN PARIS!
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