The Palace of Versailles, along with the gardens and the park, is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to, and I’ve been to many places. Situated a few miles from Paris, Versailles used to be the home of the Kings of France since Louis XIV. It was the center of power and culture in Europe for much of the 17th and 18th centuries.
When I first arrived at Versailles the place was already packed with tourists. There was a long line for tickets, and an even longer line for ticket holders to get into the palace.
Usually, most people start off seeing the palace, which is at the entrance, before viewing the gardens, then moving on to see Le domaine de Marie-Antoinette (the chateau of the Queens and mistresses of France) further away, and finally visiting the park if time permits. This is what I did the last time I was at Versailles 9 years ago with my family, and we only had time to see the palace and gardens because Versailles was so huge. We were also at Versailles for 7 hours and still didn’t have time to see everything!
Part of the reason why it’s difficult to see all of Versailles is because of the very long lines. So, instead of waiting in line to see the palace first, I decided to invert the typical agenda and walk all the way to the park. Since I had to go through the gardens to get to the park, I also got to enjoy the beautiful gardens on the way. The weather was great, the fountains produced a relaxing breeze, and most of the other tourists were waiting to get into the palace so the gardens were much less crowded.
