Versailles - from a hunting lodge to the capital of the French kingdom

What to expect

• The story of envy. You will learn that Versailles would never have become Versailles if the young Louis XIV had not been offended by the luxury of his Minister of Finance, Nicolas Fouquet. What would have happened to Versailles if the king had not imprisoned poor Nicolas Fouquet and taken his architects to build his own residence? Truly, Louis XIV's envy - created the miracle of Versailles.
• The manners of the Louis. I will also tell you about other characteristics of Louis XIV, which ultimately made him the Great King of France. You will learn about the characters and habits of two other Louises and understand why history did not bestow upon them the title of their ancestor.
• The women of Versailles. Without the story of the role of favorites on the kings, much would have remained incomprehensible. I will not overlook either the favorites of Louis XIV or his great-grandson Louis XV. But Louis XVI had no favorites, yet his wife - Queen Marie Antoinette - will become the heroine of the story about the mistresses of Versailles. Among them, by the way, were 3 queens and two dauphines - wives of the king's heir. But it was the last queen who became one of the symbols of Versailles and its luxury. Today, the image of Marie Antoinette evokes universal sympathy and interest. We will try to understand why the court and the people could not tolerate such a charming woman and why the angry crowd that stormed the palace on the memorable October day of 1789 was ready to kill their queen in her chambers at Versailles?
• The halls and rooms of the palace. We will walk through the King's and Queen's ceremonial apartments, inspect the private rooms of Louis XIV with his Bedroom and Hall of Mirrors, and try to understand why the famous Hall of Mirrors was considered the 8th wonder of the world by the contemporaries of the Sun King. We will pay tribute to the creators of Versailles - the architects, artists, sculptors, and its ingenious landscape designer.
• Versailles Park. After exploring the palace, we will visit André Le Nôtre's masterpiece - the classic French garden with its surprise groves. If the tour takes place on a Saturday or Sunday, the magic of 17th-century music and the beauty of the gushing fountains will make a walk through the park even more unforgettable.