Paris 2015 Day 2: Gardens of Versailles
After the château we visited the Gardens of Versailles. Access to the gardens is free. Except on specific days (mostly on the weekend) when the Musical Fountains Show, the "Grandes Eaux", takes place. This is when you can see all the fountains "in action". You can see see some pictures on wikimedia.
While we didn't see the fountains show, we saw a number of installations and sculptures by renowned artist Sir Anish Kapoor that were on display in Versailles for much of the season. He's probably best known for creating "The Bean" in Chicago.
This one's called "C-Curve".
Another Kapoor sculpture called "Sky Mirror".
Flower beds on the terrace of the château, known as the Parterre d’Eau.
On the left, or southern side behind the palace you can find the Orangerie. The pond in the distance is the Swiss Pond. Again the reminder that you can click on the pictures to get to a larger version.
If you prefer an undistorted view.
The backside of the palace. Behind the wall on the left is the Hall of Mirrors.
A look down from the terrace to one of the lesser frequented paths.
Panoramic view of main axis of the garden. The Latona Fountain in the front, the Grand Canal in the distance. Also, notice the man in the foreground, possibly violating the space-time continuum.
Closer look at the Latona Fountain with its golden frogs. If you're interested, you can find some info about the recent restoration process of the Latona Parterre at the palace's website.
Look back at the palace, tourists increasingly invade the gardens.
Impeccably groomed bushes.
The distances in the garden can add up. Some people opt to rent golf carts.
Anish Kapoor sculpture called "Dirty Corner". Just a few days after our visit it got vandalised with anti-Semitic graffiti.
One of the smaller fountains called Autumn. It probably won't surprise you to hear that there are similar fountains for the other three seasons. At all the fountains there are signs that tell you to stay away from the water because it is not clean. Versailles always had to try to conserve water because there isn't enough for all the buildings and fountains.
Another pond, part of the The Miroir d'Eau bosquet.
One of the more remote walkways.
Another look back at the palace and the backside of "Dirty Corner".
La Colonnade at the Bosquet des Sources.
The Grand Canal behind the Bassin d’Apollon, the Apollo Fountain.
Built around 1670, the fountain depicts the sun god driving his chariot to light the sky.
Another installation by Anish Kapoor called "Descension".
It is more impressive when you see it in action and also hear the audio.
One of the many statues in the gardens.
You can rent small boats on the more than five kilometres long (all arms added) Grand Canal. Which is probably a good thing to do if you really want to get into the spirit of an 18th century French king or queen. I was tempted.
If you don't want to walk (or can't), another mode of transportation to help you get around the large compound. The whole gardens cover an area of 800 hectares, almost 2000 acres.
A few hundred metres north from here you get to the Grand Trianon. Notice the parked golf carts.
It was built as a retreat for the king and his chief mistress. Which, in case you are wondering, is an official title.
We didn't go there, but close by is also the Petit Trianon. Another palace originally built for a mistress, but later occupied by Marie Antoinette. To visit those two palaces you have to pay extra. If you like, you can see slide shows online of the Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon.
In general, the Versailles website offers a lot of multimedia-based information.
Fountain of Spring.
Another look at the level of the Latona fountain.
The outside of the Hall of Mirrors and one of the basins that gives the Parterre d’Eau its name.
The attempt to capture the breadth of the château.
At the northern side of the gardens you find the Bassin du Dragon.
And below that, the Bassin de Neptune.
The look back up from the Neptune Fountain to the palace.
When leaving Versailles you could observe the weather pattern we had on most days. Blue skies in the morning. But clouds started to gather around midday. Despite how dark it looks, it thankfully didn't rain that day.
The Metro subway system is vast. So when you switch lines you sometimes have to walk quite a distance. At some places there are horizontal escalators like they have at airports.
Pleased to see that Madeleine is still there.
If you can't get enough of the palace and the gardens, there's an one hour documentary on YouTube.
While we didn't see the fountains show, we saw a number of installations and sculptures by renowned artist Sir Anish Kapoor that were on display in Versailles for much of the season. He's probably best known for creating "The Bean" in Chicago.
This one's called "C-Curve".
Another Kapoor sculpture called "Sky Mirror".
Flower beds on the terrace of the château, known as the Parterre d’Eau.
On the left, or southern side behind the palace you can find the Orangerie. The pond in the distance is the Swiss Pond. Again the reminder that you can click on the pictures to get to a larger version.
If you prefer an undistorted view.
The backside of the palace. Behind the wall on the left is the Hall of Mirrors.
A look down from the terrace to one of the lesser frequented paths.
Panoramic view of main axis of the garden. The Latona Fountain in the front, the Grand Canal in the distance. Also, notice the man in the foreground, possibly violating the space-time continuum.
Closer look at the Latona Fountain with its golden frogs. If you're interested, you can find some info about the recent restoration process of the Latona Parterre at the palace's website.
Look back at the palace, tourists increasingly invade the gardens.
Impeccably groomed bushes.
The distances in the garden can add up. Some people opt to rent golf carts.
Anish Kapoor sculpture called "Dirty Corner". Just a few days after our visit it got vandalised with anti-Semitic graffiti.
One of the smaller fountains called Autumn. It probably won't surprise you to hear that there are similar fountains for the other three seasons. At all the fountains there are signs that tell you to stay away from the water because it is not clean. Versailles always had to try to conserve water because there isn't enough for all the buildings and fountains.
Another pond, part of the The Miroir d'Eau bosquet.
One of the more remote walkways.
Another look back at the palace and the backside of "Dirty Corner".
La Colonnade at the Bosquet des Sources.
The Grand Canal behind the Bassin d’Apollon, the Apollo Fountain.
Built around 1670, the fountain depicts the sun god driving his chariot to light the sky.
Another installation by Anish Kapoor called "Descension".
It is more impressive when you see it in action and also hear the audio.
One of the many statues in the gardens.
You can rent small boats on the more than five kilometres long (all arms added) Grand Canal. Which is probably a good thing to do if you really want to get into the spirit of an 18th century French king or queen. I was tempted.
If you don't want to walk (or can't), another mode of transportation to help you get around the large compound. The whole gardens cover an area of 800 hectares, almost 2000 acres.
A few hundred metres north from here you get to the Grand Trianon. Notice the parked golf carts.
It was built as a retreat for the king and his chief mistress. Which, in case you are wondering, is an official title.
We didn't go there, but close by is also the Petit Trianon. Another palace originally built for a mistress, but later occupied by Marie Antoinette. To visit those two palaces you have to pay extra. If you like, you can see slide shows online of the Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon.
In general, the Versailles website offers a lot of multimedia-based information.
Fountain of Spring.
Another look at the level of the Latona fountain.
The outside of the Hall of Mirrors and one of the basins that gives the Parterre d’Eau its name.
The attempt to capture the breadth of the château.
At the northern side of the gardens you find the Bassin du Dragon.
And below that, the Bassin de Neptune.
The look back up from the Neptune Fountain to the palace.
When leaving Versailles you could observe the weather pattern we had on most days. Blue skies in the morning. But clouds started to gather around midday. Despite how dark it looks, it thankfully didn't rain that day.
The Metro subway system is vast. So when you switch lines you sometimes have to walk quite a distance. At some places there are horizontal escalators like they have at airports.
Pleased to see that Madeleine is still there.
If you can't get enough of the palace and the gardens, there's an one hour documentary on YouTube.