Day 4 Versailles
If you jumped into this page directly, you can start at the beginning of our trip here. Otherwise, keep reading about day 4 of our Paris trip in the winter.
We only had one activity planned for the day, but it was a big one. We were taking the train over to Versailles. The weather was on our side and there was no rain for most of the day. However, it was cold… really cold. We bundled up in our warmest gear and took along 4 of our hand warmers that we had brought for the trip. We ducked into the Cluny metro station, and walked underground to the Saint Michel RER station. You want to take RER C and make sure the destination is Versailles Chateau Rive Gauche. The destination should be VICK on the front of the train. This is a direct ride with no transfers and should take about 45 minutes. As you get off the train, just follow the crowds. Cross the street behind the information building and head straight to the parking lot. If you aren’t sure, just follow the people.
From the train station, just follow the crowd to Versailles
With the exception of the Louvre, lines for everything had been pretty minimal. That was about to change. As we walked up, we saw that the line went from the entrance, out to the main entry gate and then wrapped back around half way to the entrance again. We hoped that this was the ticket purchase line, which we would be able to skip with our passes, but soon found out that this was the line to get in. We had tried to get an early start to beat the crowds, but we were still surprised at the number of people in line. We broke out our hand warmers, (which actually really helped alot, especially on this day) and started our wait. We took turns wandering off to take pictures which helped pass the time. About an hour and a half later, we were at the entrance. We got through the security checkpoint and scanner pretty quickly, but was shocked to find that they had only one person scanning tickets. He didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry, and actually took the time to be pointing out where the restaurant was to someone. I’m sure they’ve been doing this a long time, and couldn’t be this incompetent, so we guessed that by controlling how many people came in the door, that they were able to keep the crowds down within the actual halls.
Large lines at Versailles
The inside of the Versailles Palace was as beautiful as all of the pictures that we had seen. As we walked from room to room, we thought about our trip to St. Petersburg, touring through Catherine Palace and Peterhof. Each was intended to copy Versailles, and now we had the opportunity to see it in person and it didn’t disappoint. The rooms were beautiful with their ornate decorations and ceiling paintings. Each room seemed to be more elegant than the one we came from. It was impossible to pick the more beautiful between the Palaces in St. Petersburg and Versailles. We were thrilled that we had the chance to visit them both.
Beautiful decorations and paintings throughout the palace.
As probably everyone will tell you, the Hall of Mirrors was the highlight of the Palace for us. Take your time walking through the hall, and remember that you can only move through the Palace in one direction so once you leave the hall, you won’t be able to return. We realized when reaching the end that we had missed a wing of rooms off the Hall of Mirrors, but we weren’t able to go back to them.
The Hall of Mirrors
It was around noon, so we started looking for somewhere to grab lunch. We found the Cafe Angelina and ate there. This was the same restaurant that we had eaten at while at the Louvre. It might have been a bit pricey, but we knew what to expect, so we didn’t hesitate to eat there again. We would definitely recommend Angelina if you’re in either of these places and need to find lunch.
As we walked out to the garden, we were struck by how massive it was. Unfortunately, it was winter so the fountains weren’t running, and everything seemed a little bare. We wanted to be able to compare it to what we saw at Peterhof Palace in St Petersburg, but since we were in the dead of winter, it really wasn’t a fair comparison. When we went to Peterhof, they had all of their fountains going and it was spectacular.
The Gardens at Versailles
We were going to start walking around the gardens, but noticed that the tram was at its ticket booth parked off to the side. It was already loaded with people, but we ran over (yes, we ran) to see if we could catch it. The train operator waited for us to buy our tickets, 8 Euros per person, and we were able to find some empty seats. The train took us to the Grand Trianon and Petite Trianon palaces at the far end of the garden. The ride can get bumpy as the train rides along the cobblestone at times, but we were happy to save the time and energy and bypass the 30 minute walk.
The Grand Trianon is a Chateau built by King Louis XIV as a retreat. Similarly, the Petite Trianon was also built as a retreat and was eventually given to Queen Marie Antoinette by King Louis XVI. Entry to both of these places are covered by your museum pass, and there was no line for either of them when we were there. These Chateaus are obviously smaller than Versailles, so perhaps gives you a more personal, intimate feel for how they lived.
The Grand Trianon Palace
For me, a much more interesting place was the Queen’s Hamlet, a small replica village that Marie Antoinette had constructed for her to enjoy the country life without leaving her Palace. The Hamlet is pretty surreal, and makes you feel like you’re in some fairy tale. The cottages, complete with thatched roofs, have been perfectly restored. This area is only about a 15 minute walk from the Petite Trianon, and is worth the time to visit.
The Queens Hamlet
By the time our train returned to Versailles, it had started to rain again, so after snapping a few final pictures of the garden, we headed off to catch the train home. Note that there are far fewer ways to screw up when catching the train back to Paris since all trains will take you back to downtown Paris. We got off at the Saint Michel station and made the short walk to our hotel. Again, we decided to stay in the area for dinner, so we tried Le Port Pot which was only a short walk from our hotel. The restaurant was a bistro with a rustic feel. The staff was friendly and the food was good. We had the beef medallions and the steak fritte.
Dinner at Le Port Pot
