Tuesday 15 June 2010

V is for...

Chateau de Versailles

This is the back of the beautiful palace of Versailles. And isn't it imposing? The front is equally imposing, but renovation work meant scaffolding and the amount of people wanting to visit equals no nice photo!

The palace didn't start out like this, it was first a much smaller royal hunting lodge, just outside of Paris. Louis XIV wanted to make it his home though and started expanding almost the minute he arrived. From 1661 onwards, the palace was extended several times until in 1789 (with still more plans to extend and improve), the French revolution took place, all the royals were forced back to Paris and all plans were put on hold. 

During the next few years several things were suggested about the palace, but in the end it was settled that it would become a museum and it has been the museum of France ever since. Nowadays it is a fantastic place to visit, not only the palace itself, but the gardens, the stables and everything else is fantastic as well. You could easily spend a whole day there and not have seen even half! 

For more V-words from around the world, please visit ABC Wednesday and join in the fun!

22 comments:

  1. Versailles is such a gorgeous place and one of my best memories of Paris! Love your photo! Wonderful post for the V day! Hope you have a lovely week!

    Sylvia

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  2. Well, look at you, sitting behind that big Versailles-y coffee table edition! But where'd you put that infectuous smile of yours? Hmmm? Are you perhaps...USING IT AS A BOOKMARK?! LOL! I promise you, I ain't goin' nowhere till I see your mouth ends upturn. *raps fingers on table, then begins to tap toe impatiently* I'm waiting.

    Still waiting.........LOL! Just funning you!

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  3. We went to Versailles in 1997 and I'd love to go back on my own rather than with a tour group. I'd love to wander the gardens way in the back and just take my time to saVor it all. Fascinating place with a fascinating history!

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  4. never been there BUT we travel through Netherlands often! Ijmuiden and onwards!

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  5. I have read this name so many times in novels and books and I am always in awe of how huge is this place. Great shot too happy Wednesday!


    ABC Wednesday~V

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  6. Great information about a place I would love to visit. Perfect choice for the letter V.

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  7. Great choice for V. I would really love to visit here and hope to make it one day. A

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  8. thank you for the nice memories from more than two decades ago, while visiting this place. please have a great wednesday.

    daily athens

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  9. A beautiful place to visit. Very good post!

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  10. It looks amazing. Thank you for sharing it and the history lesson.

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  11. It's been years since I've visited Versailles... I think another trip should be on my agenda to refresh my memory! (your cat looks so comfy on the bed in your Monday post!)

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  12. Fantastic doesn't quite capture the grandness of this place. I've never been...maybe someday! Thanks for the background on it.

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  13. I have seen that ages ago, lol ! I have been several time in Paris, seen all touristic stuff, was there for 10 days to help a friend to move into her new appartment and now I have enough of Paris, lol ! Paris people are not very friendly there when you are not a tourist and even if you are !

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  14. I love that you've added a photo of you reading about Versailles.

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  15. of all the places in Eurpoe i really want to see, this is top 5.

    ROG, ABC Wednesday team

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  16. Versailles is truly stunning - a delight in every direction.
    I loved your earlier posts, too. Your orange photo is wonderful - even an orange cat (sorry, puss - I know you're not orange really - just gorgeous)
    Well done on having your talents and skill recognised - why shouldn't your head swell, just a little?

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  17. I've never been to Versailles. It looks beautiful so I'm going to have to remedy that. :)

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  18. I've heard some pretty interesting things about Versailles and I'd love to visit one day. You say you could spend a day there and not see half, and I imagine that's very true! Perhaps you would need a week. I would be very interested in the stables, kitchens etc, because those are the things where you get to see more of the actual social history of a place. I like to imagine them with the people working in them at the time.

    Lovely photo - even if you couldn't get one from the front!

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  19. I'll bet that it's quite the tour.

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  20. We are coming to the end of the current round and plans are in store for the next round, I do hope you will be part of the fun! If you would like to be part of the team just drop me an e-mail :-

    Denise Nesbitt
    ABC Wednesday founder & team member

    denisebydesigns at googlemail dot com

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  21. I would love to see Versailles some day! I have never been over to Europe...I have just traveled in the United States. Maybe someday I'll be able to travel overseas. (I hope!)

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Any weighty (and not so weighty) comments are welcome!