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Europe

How to Love Versailles: Make like Marie Antoinette

How to Love Versailles: Make like Marie Antoinette

How to love Versailles despite the crowds

Raised on my tippy toes I struggled to see the hall of mirrors for what it was in its entirety. People of all nationalities and all languages were buzzing about to and fro without any sign of slowing. I stumbled off the tips of my feet and fell into a girl making what’s known as a duck face. She was taking a selfie. Worst of all she was taking a selfie with nothing behind her. No gilded mirrors or chandeliers. No view of the gardens. No frescoes nor paintings of the Sun King or Marie Antoinette. Only her own duck face with the lens strategically placed so that further cleavage played peak-a-boo with whomever she was about to send her photo to.
She hardly noticed me bump into her shoulder as she posed. But then again she hardly noticed anything.

But she wasn’t the only one. Some posed with large iPads hovering above them while the herd moved around them filing into the next room. The only objective was to make it to the next room. To make it outside where the summer air was a little less dulled by the dank breath of people. Whether you made it there with your traveling colleagues or not was another matter.

This, Madame, is Versailles.

This is ridiculous.

Can you tell I am not a huge fan of self-indulgent selfies?
Although they can be done right.
There is an ere of irony though as a girl poses for a self-glorifying selfie with nothing in the photo but herself as she stands in a room of history and excess that she probably doesn’t know too much about. And as I looked around with monarchs staring back at me I wondered, are their portraits akin to selfies in some ways?
Is this duck faced girl the modern day Marie Antoinette?
I shudder to think.

And isn’t that why most of these people attend the “must-see” Versailles? There’s no doubt Marie Antoinette has captured the imagination many. Myself included. I perhaps am one of the few (that I know of) that loves Sofia Coppola’s rendition of Marie Antoinette. The quiet of everyday life, the whispers of treason, lovers, lesbianism and disregard VS the cries of revolution all set against the sounds of an 1980s mix-tape – so well done in my mind.

How to Love Versailles

So how does one enjoy Versailles? How can you leave loving Versailles amidst the selfies, clashing of cultures and the gluey crowds?

versailles row

Well, Madame, head to the garden. In fact, head to Marie Antoinette’s hide away.
We all know Antoinette as the excessive and self-indulgent woman but in some ways her hideaway estate reveals something more about her.

How to love Versailles

I am in the camp that Antoinette did not in fact say her most infamous words “Let them eat cake!” Much like in Coppola’s movie I like to think of her as a woman cooped up in a palace plagued with boredom, no family and no idea of the real world that would catch up to her in the end. So the idea of peasant life was quaint to her I’m sure. It didn’t involve gossip, accusations of treason nor did it involve the general pressures of the court (little did she realize it involved hard work and sometimes going hungry). The estate is indeed a picturesque hideaway where not even the king was allowed to roam without her permission.

How to love Versailles

It is the furthest point from the palace making it the last place visitors get to unless they make it a priority. You’ll be surprised how many do not. Arrive at opening time, set around noon in the summer and simply relax. The gardens here can be appreciated and you can gain a sense of how and perhaps why Marie Antoinette needed this place of respite away from the court. The fragrant gardens set against pink stone cottages are the true highlight of Versailles.

How to love Versailles

The truth is the palace is my kind of nightmare. There are too many people!

How to love Versailles
Yes it is a marvel. It is inspiring in a sense to walk the same rooms and passages that your favourite French monarch did over 240 years ago. But you’re doing so with over 2500 people in one day, perhaps even more! The inspiration tends to fall flat by the time you reach the Hall of Mirrors.

How to love Versailles via @wandertraveler

 

So what then? Why even go?
I don’t regret going. If you love a good palace and you feel an affinity for someone special who once occupied the Monarchy, even if it is mistress then you should certainly go. But if not, there are plenty more palaces that deserve your attention and will deliver enjoyment within the Loire Valley and beyond.

How to love Versailles

TIPS: I arrived at 10 am from Paris with a group of 6 people. Immediately we skipped the long lineup leading into the palace and opted for the garden which is free. I recommend you take either bicycles OR a golf cart (not free). These ensure that you can tour the gardens in comfort while also making for a speedier arrival time at Marie Antoinette’s hideaway estate. If you have a Paris Pass your tickets into Marie Antoinette’s Estate as well as the palace, and both Petit & Grand Trianons are included.

How to love Versailles

 

Have you been to Versailles?
Did you like it? Will you return?

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How to love Versailles amongst the crowds and selfies

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About Murissa

Murissa is founder of FoodieTown.ca, producer and host of The Okanagan Food Show Podcast, video editor and co-creator of the Foodie Card.

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10 comments

  1. Jac says:
    June 28, 2015 at 5:51 am

    Thanks for the shoutout on my selfie post! I think selfies are inevitable especially if you are a solo traveller, but yes I agree that if you’re not going to put any of that amazing background/location in your selfie, there’s no point taking it there right?

    I did love the reflection in this post about whether we actually see these beautiful places properly alongside so many other tourists trying to do the same. and also great tip for people heading to Versailles! I’ll pass that on 🙂

    Reply
  2. Dina says:
    June 23, 2015 at 9:08 am

    Too bad your experience was not as good as it could be because it is a fascinating place. We were there in the winter and literally had a private tour of the place and it wasn’t hot. We went there twice from Paris on that trip. People wonder why we travel in the winter but there are advantages, other than not wanting to leave Kelowna in the summer.

    Reply
  3. Esther of Local Adventurer says:
    June 1, 2015 at 6:42 pm

    i like to visit everything at least once.. but i’m def not drawn to areas with crowds. bc i’m short.. i just start getting lost in a sea of sweaty backs. i would probably enjoy marie antoinette’s hideaway much more than the rest of the palace. have you seen the short film about today’s culture and selfies. it stars kirsten dunst https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwDbOmPQNx0

    I thought it was really interesting how it comments on people nowadays would rather have a photo as proof of meeting someone rather than actually experiencing a conversation with them. i know i’m not huge on taking selfies.. but i also often find that i am too caught up taking photos of a place to actually enjoy and take in my surroundings.

    Reply
  4. Brianna says:
    May 30, 2015 at 9:16 am

    I felt the same way about Vienna’s Schonbrunn Palace. I’ll take roaming the beautiful gardens over crowded rooms of baroque excess any day.

    Reply
  5. Tragic Sandwich says:
    May 29, 2015 at 1:06 pm

    We went to Versailles on my (so far) one and only trip to France, with my parents and brother in 1982. My strongest and fondest memories are of the gardens, where we had an al fresco snack of breadsticks and cheese that we had brought with us.

    Reply
  6. Andi says:
    May 29, 2015 at 12:41 pm

    I love Versaille, but typically avoid the palace – I visit the grounds. We used to bring our bikes and go through the furthest out paths of the gardens and they were wonderful. It is a great place for a picnic too!

    Reply
  7. Christina says:
    May 28, 2015 at 6:19 pm

    Hilarious picture of the crowd in the Hall of Mirrors!! (Even if it was agonizing to be there in the middle of that.) Thankfully I was at Versailles before camera phones and selfies and really liked it. Next time I visit I will need to spend more time at Marie Antoinette’s Estate. I spent hours admiring every little stucco detail (because the palace was not crowded during my visit) that I didn’t save much time for the gardens.

    Reply
  8. LauraG says:
    May 28, 2015 at 5:07 pm

    I’m with you Murissa. I couldn’t get out of the Palace. fast enough. It was 100 degrees when I was there and inside was stifling. I nearly had a panic attack. No A/C back in the day :).

    Napolean’s apartments at the Louvre were much more enjoyable than the Palace at Versailles.

    Reply
  9. Tamara says:
    May 28, 2015 at 10:37 am

    Great tips! Often if you go with a tour you don’t to get out and explore except at the main palace. I remember the Hall of Mirror being nightmare of people and that was before iPads and selfies. Why do people want to cart around a giant iPad for picture taking? I see that everywhere and don’t get it at all.

    Reply
  10. Jenna says:
    May 28, 2015 at 9:12 am

    The photos of the garden are so pretty! And so is that first photo. Great tips. I wouldn’t have thought of bikes but it’s been years since I visited Versailles, so I didn’t even know that was an option. I liked it (didn’t love it) but mostly for the gardens, too.

    Reply

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