Huge garden puts chateau in shade

Trevor Ayson visits the Chateau of Versailles, built by Louis XIV in the 17th century, and is amazed the sheer size of the magnificent 800 hectare garden. 

When it comes to the Chateau Versailles near Paris, many articles written about this magnificent reminder of France's pre-revolutionary monarchy tend to concentrate on the splendour of the chateau.

Well, there's no denying that, and the fact that Louis XIV wasn't short of a franc or two and that he spent vast sums on building a lavish chateau, but there is much more to Versailles.

In fact, the chateau complex, as big and splendid as it is with its 700 rooms, is just a small part of the Versailles estate.

It is the garden which is truly spectacular in size and appearance, and dwarfs the chateau and the other buildings on the estate.

It covers an area of 800ha, has 50 fountains, and a huge canal which is 1500 metres long and 62 metres wide.

My wife Marie and I visited Versailles during a weekend holiday in Paris, and while we had a good look around the place, we barely scratched the surface of exploring the garden during our six hour visit.

You would need at least several days, if not a week, to truly see and appreciate the entire garden.

The garden is open to the public, free of charge, except on weekends from April to September. Then the spectacular Versailles' fountains are on display and people have to cough up an 8 euro ($NZ17) entrance fee.

We didn't get to see the fountain display as we went to Versailles on a Friday. The reason for that was a Versailles one day pass is cheaper on a weekday than at the weekends, and we only had three days of sightseeing in Paris.

Versailles lies 20km southwest of Paris, in the town of the same name. As Versailles was transformed by Louis XIV from a former hunting lodge into a chateau, the town grew as well.

A one day pass will cost you 21 euro ($NZ45) weekdays, and 25 euro ($NZ54) at weekends. The pass includes the train to Versailles and back to Paris, as well as entrance to the chateau complex.

Marie and I hopped on the Metro near our hotel in Montmartre and travelled to the Invalides station, where we bought our day passes.

We found our way to the platform, but were not sure on which side the Versailles train was leaving.

A Frenchman carrying an accordion saw our predicament and pointed us to the correct platform.

The same guy got on the train and went from carriage to carriage playing his accordion in exchange for money.

He was a busker, so it was in his best interest financially to have a full train.

The trip to Versailles took about 40 minutes. Once in the town, it was not hard to find the chateau as it was only a few minutes walk from the station and we just followed the crowd.

Our day pass meant we didn't have to queue to buy tickets, which can be a wait of up to three hours during peak season.

Instead we had to wait just 20 minutes to get in. However, there was a further 20 minute wait for audio guides. Once we finally had them we set off through the king's and queen's state apartments.

We also saw the Hall of Mirrors, which has had a seven million euro, three year restoration makeover.

It was in this hall that World War 1 was officially ended and the seeds of another global conflict were sown when the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919.

After about an hour and a half of looking round the chateau, we went outside to check out the "back lawn", where we stayed for the next four hours, apart from a quick visit to Marie-Antoinette's estate.

There are several ways to get about the estate, by foot, by rented bike, or on a French version of a Noddy train. We decided to walk, as we had plenty of time.

Despite Versailles' 50 fountains not being turned on during our visit, we were still impressed by them and their ornate classical figures.

One of the largest is the Latona fountain, which is to the west of the chateau. This is also one of the most photographed fountains, as it overlooks the picturesque Grand Canal.

As the garden is a public park, and has been so for more than 200 years, the canal is a popular spot for picnics and boating.

But the one part of the garden that thoroughly captivated both of us was the Queen's Hamlet.

This is a small village built in 1785 for Marie Antoinette to enjoy, although not for long, as in 1794 she, along with her husband, Louis XVI, got it in the neck from the guillotine.

The hamlet is beside a small lake stocked with swans and hundreds of catfish. The fish are so tame, and probably used to getting a free feed, that they stick their heads out of the water whenever people are around. The hamlet's houses all have beautiful small gardens, although we were not able to have a close look inside most of them as the gates were locked.

Much to our surprise we came upon a farmhouse with hens scratching around in the yard and horses in nearby paddocks. Truly enchanting.

Before we knew it the afternoon had gone, and we had only seen a fraction of the wonderful garden of Chateau Versailles. We wanted to see more, but that will just have to wait for another visit.

- The Marlborough Express