Palace of Versailles

At the Place d'Armes, Before the Statue of Louis XIV

The equestrian statue in front of you is Louis XIV, the king who built Versailles. Behind it rises the palace itself, it…

At the King's Gate

Find the line matching your reserved time slot and join it. Entrance B, across the way on the right, is for group visito…

The King's Courtyard

This space is known as the King's Courtyard because it served as the entrance to the royal living quarters. Black and wh…

The Four-Hundred-Year Room — A History of Versailles

Versailles began life as a small, quiet village far from Paris, and the site looked nothing like the palace it would bec…

The Young Louis XIV's Vision for an Ideal Palace

A portrait of Louis XIV in his twenties hangs on the far wall of this room, with a painting of Versailles as it looked i…

1677: Louis XIV at War

The largest painting in this room, visible as soon as you walk in, depicts Louis XIV accepting a surrender after his vic…

Sketches for the Hall of Mirrors

Two busts sit at the center of this room. The one with the fuller head of hair is Jules Hardouin-Mansart, who designed t…

Art Within the Gardens of Versailles

This room displays works depicting the Versailles gardens as they looked during Louis XIV's reign. The gardens were deco…

Louis XIV's Final Commission

Take a look at the beautiful statue facing you. It depicts Zephyr, the personification of the west wind of spring, decla…

Queen Marie Leszczyńska and Her Fascination with China

This room has been restored to look as it did when it belonged to Marie Leszczyńska, wife of Louis XV, and her portrait…

Louis XVI, the Last King — The Fall of a Hundred Years of Absolute Monarchy

Louis XVI was the king under whom a hundred years of absolute monarchy at Versailles came crashing down. His portrait he…

Louis-Philippe, the Citizen King, and the Art of Trompe-l'œil

At the center of the largest painting here, the figure on the white horse is Louis-Philippe, shown with his five sons in…

The Endless Celebration — Versailles as a Stage for Art and Festivity

This room is filled with video screens, and the one wall without a video bears the title "The Endless Celebration." The…

The Boy King Louis XIV and the Regency

When Louis-Philippe converted the Palace of Versailles into a museum of French history, this wing of rooms, once home to…

Louis XIV: Art and Culture

This room shows a slightly older Louis XIV. The red stockings he wears were central to men's fashion of the era: expensi…

Louis XIV's Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture

The portraits hanging in this room depict artists who passed the entrance exam of the Royal Academy of Painting and Scul…

Louis XIV's Mistresses

This room displays Louis XIV's "private family" — relatives outside his official wife and the children born of that marr…

Versailles, Seat of European Power

This room displays paintings showing that Louis XIV was a complete ruler not only politically but religiously and diplom…

The Family of Louis XIV

Most of the portraits in this room depict Louis XIV's relatives and grandchildren. The largest painting here shows the w…

The Wars of Louis XIV

This room holds a small equestrian statue of Louis XIV riding off to war. Above it are paintings of the battles he waged…

Louis XIV's Retreats

This room holds large paintings of forests and châteaux — all places where Louis XIV went to rest or pursue his favorite…

The Royal Chapel

This is the royal chapel. Listening to the sound of the pipe organ at the front, Louis XIV attended Mass here every morn…

The Hercules Salon

The scale shifts dramatically from the rooms seen so far: this is where the King's State Apartment begins. An "apartment…

The Abundance Salon

This is the smallest room in the King's State Apartment, yet it bears the name "Abundance Salon." At the center of the c…

The Venus Salon

At the center of the ceiling fresco is Venus, goddess of beauty and love. Both this room and the Abundance Salon we just…

The Diana Salon

The ceiling depicts Diana, goddess of the hunt and the moon, hunting by moonlight, and more hunting scenes surround it —…

The Mars Salon

At the center of the ceiling, Mars, god of war, rides a chariot drawn by two wolves, with soldiers, weapons, and helmets…

The Mercury Salon

The ceiling shows Mercury riding a chariot drawn by two roosters, equipped with his winged cap and sandals and the winge…

The Apollo Salon

On the ceiling, Apollo rides a chariot drawn by four horses, sunlight streaming behind him. Apollo, god of the sun, was…

The War Salon

This is the War Salon. At the center of the ceiling fresco stands a personification of France, draped in a cloak bearing…

The Hall of Mirrors

The Hall of Mirrors is lined on one side with a row of mirrors and, facing them, a row of mirror-shaped windows. Sunligh…

The Salon of Peace

The Salon of Peace forms a pair with the Salon of War, the two rooms mirroring each other across the Hall of Mirrors. Wh…

The Queen's Bedchamber

The Queen's Bedchamber and the three rooms that follow it belong to the Queen's Apartment, a suite that mirrors the King…

The Nobles' Antechamber

A portrait of Louis XV hangs on the far wall. His queen, Marie Leszczyńska, used this room as a formal salon where she r…

The Queen's Guard Room

In the Queen's Guard Room, members of an elite company of personal bodyguards stood watch day and night. The floor was f…

The Coronation Room - The Coronation Painting

This painting, which fills an entire wall, depicts the coronation of Napoleon. Before an audience of clergy and nobles,…

The Coronation Room - The Oath of the Army after Receiving the Eagle Standards, and the Divorce

This painting depicts another official ceremony, held three days after the coronation, on December 5, 1804. Napoleon had…

Room of 1792 - The Battle of Valmy

The Room of 1792 commemorates the year the monarchy fell and the republic was established in the wake of the French Revo…

Room of 1792 - The Battle of Jemappes

If the Battle of Valmy was the defensive battle that announced the republic's birth, the Battle of Jemappes, shown on th…

The Gallery of Battles

Stretching 120 meters, this gallery is the largest space in the Palace of Versailles. Every painting that fills it depic…

The Room of 1830

This room takes its name from the July Revolution of 1830 and the constitutional oath Louis Philippe swore that year. Ma…

The Gallery of Sculptures

This corridor is the Gallery of Sculptures, lined with statues of clergy, artists, statesmen, and kings who served Franc…

The Grand Canal

Stretching over 1.6 kilometers, the Grand Canal feels even larger up close. Appearing to extend endlessly from the Palac…

The Apollo Fountain

Where the Grand Canal begins, another fountain centers on Apollo. It captures the moment the sun god rises above the hor…

Four Ways to Enjoy the Gardens

There are four ways to enjoy Versailles' vast gardens: on foot, by little train, by bicycle, or by golf cart.

The Grand Trianon: Louis XIV's Private Retreat

In "Grand Trianon," grand means large or majestic, while Trianon was the name of the village that originally stood on th…

The Mirror Room

The Grand Trianon's "Mirror Room" has far fewer mirrors than the Hall of Mirrors at the main Versailles palace, but shar…

The Empress's Bedchamber

The most striking object in the room is the ornate bed once used by Marie-Louise, Napoleon's second wife. It originally…

The Chapel Room

This room originally served as a chapel. In a small alcove with an open door stands a crucifix, with a painting of the A…

The Lords' Antechamber

This room originally served as a waiting area for nobles and lords who came to be received by the king. Napoleon, who va…

The Peristyle: A View Framed by Columns

The Peristyle — meaning "a passage enclosed by columns" — was an idea devised by Louis XIV himself. The original design…

The Round Drawing Room: A Hidden Musicians' Stair

Named for its circular floor plan, this room hides a small secret. To the right of the fireplace, a door set into the wo…

The Emperor's Family Drawing Room

Furnished with several small tables and facing chairs, this room was once something like a board-game parlor. When the G…

The Queen of the Belgians' Bedroom

Furnished in red and gold, this room is dominated by its bed, which Napoleon commissioned from a master craftsman for hi…

The Music Room: From Melody to Billiards

This room has changed purpose several times over the centuries. In the 17th century, under Louis XIV, it was a space for…

Louis-Philippe's Family Sitting Room

Decorated in mustard yellow, this room was the family sitting room of King Louis-Philippe. Rather than the gold favored…

The Malachite Room: A Green Friendship, Betrayed

The Malachite Room takes its name from malachite, the lustrous green mineral adorning the basin used as a wine cooler at…

The Cotelle Gallery: Where Paintings Meet the Garden

This gallery takes its name from the painter Jean Cotelle, who created 21 of the 24 large paintings displayed here. Each…

The Petit Trianon: A Queen's Private Domain

"Petit" in Petit Trianon means "small," a name given because the building is much smaller than the Grand Trianon. The Gr…

The Courtyard: A Queen's Private Boundary

This courtyard served to shut out the outside world's bustle and protect privacy. Marie Antoinette, born in Austria, fou…

The Staircase of Honor

The Staircase of Honor takes its name from the fact that, while the floor below housed guards and servants, the floor ab…

The Billiard Room: A Queen's Window to Home

The billiard table in this room originally belonged to Louis XV. When Marie Antoinette took possession of the Petit Tria…

The Service Room

This room displays an exquisite set of porcelain: white plates adorned with blue floral patterns and touches of purple p…

The King's Staircase

This space is known as the King's Staircase. Louis XV originally had it built so he could go straight up to the attic ro…

The Réchauffoir

The name "réchauffoir" means "reheating room," and while it looks like a kitchen at first glance, no actual cooking took…

The Antechamber

This room links the garden to the palace interior, with a wide window on its far wall opening onto a sweeping view of th…

The Grand Dining Room

The carved woodwork on the walls of the Grand Dining Room takes plants as its theme. Four large paintings hung around th…

The Small Dining Room

The table is set with the same style of dishware Marie Antoinette favored, seen earlier on the floor below, arranged as…

The Salon de Compagnie

This salon was the liveliest room in the Petit Trianon — here Marie Antoinette herself played the harp and sang.

The Bedroom

This bedroom reflects Marie Antoinette's personal taste in every detail. Look closely at the furniture and you'll spot m…

The Temple of Love

This is the Temple of Love, often called the most beautiful jewel in the gardens of the Petit Trianon. Emerging from the…

The Queen's Hamlet

Overlooking the lake lies the Queen's Hamlet, which Marie Antoinette had built for herself. It's a rustic little village…

Marlborough's Tower

Marlborough's Tower takes its name from a popular folk song of the era — a tune about a woman waiting in a tower for the…

The Mill

The waterwheel beside the house is purely decorative. The mill was never meant to grind grain into flour — its real purp…

The Queen's House

The upstairs balcony of the Queen's House has real charm — Marie Antoinette would often watch the farm work from here, o…

The Dovecote

This building is a dovecote. Pigeons came and went freely from the upper level, while chickens were kept below; every mo…

The Guardhouse

The hamlet's tranquility didn't maintain itself — it depended on this very guardhouse. Though it housed soldiers, the bu…

The Hamlet's Farm

It's hard to imagine such animals living on the grounds of Versailles, yet Marie Antoinette would sometimes milk the cow…