We’re just back from two days in Versailles, where we covered many miles, both on foot and on bike. My eyes can’t take in one more opulent, golden, art-filled room (I say as we head back to the Louvre tomorrow)!
We had the perfect balance of renting 24 hour bikes which allowed us to go all over the woods and around the grand canal on the first day, and also tour the Grand and Petit Palaces of Trianon, as well as the Queen’s Hamlet (no bikes allowed in that area). I was most taken on that first day by the Queen’s Hamlet, designed for Marie Antoinette than by the palaces. But I think my favorite moments of the day were spent along the grand canal, first lying in the cool grass beside our bikes in the heat of the day, then riding our bikes past sunset and into the night right as the grounds closed, nervous we’d get locked in, pedaling through forested avenues. Then we had our bikes to ride across to our Airbnb, where we collapsed and slept hard.
European Heritage Days (EHD) is a joint action of the Council of Europe and the European Commission involving all 50 signatory states of the European Cultural Convention under the motto, Europe: a common heritage. The annual programme offers opportunities to visit buildings, monuments and sites, many of which are not normally accessible to the public. It aims to widen access and foster care for architectural and environmental heritage
Wikipedia
Our second day was raining, as expected. We pedaled hard to return our bikes right near the palace, then had a quick walk just in time to hear the final notes of a marching band. We’d noticed earlier that they had streets blocked off. We found out that it’s Journées de Patrimoine (see above) and we would have access to several areas that were usually closed off. We toured the inside of the castle until our brains and eyes were overloaded with the opulence. The rain subsided enough that we ventured outside and began exploring the gardens, which are enormous. The played music throughout the day, which added to the ambiance, and fountains were turned on for 15 minutes of every hour. We did a running tour at one point and made it to 4 fountains in 15 minutes. I don’t recommend that :/ After hours exploring the gardens and orangerie, we decided to wander outside the palace and check out a Carriage exhibit at the royal stables, which was incredible to see. For our final adventure of the day, we made our way down the street to the Opera of Versailles, which was open to the public as part of the celebration. It was gorgeous and my first time in a proper opera house (though we do have tickets for Venice Opera!). Dan mentioned that he was expecting to actually see people perform, which I wasn’t, when suddenly we were shuffled over to a smaller room, seating about 100 people, and a number of singers did a short performance. What an epic finale to two days in Versailles! We had considered staying for nighttime light show, but it was all I could do to drag myself to the train station and get back to Paris. I fell asleep grateful for our life.
