A Day at Chateau de Versailles

We knew going into it that our visit to Versailles was going to be a crowded one. We opted to go on Tuesday, knowing that it was a national holiday, because it was also the only day during our trip that the fountains of Versailles were going to be operating. True to our expectations, the fountains and the holiday made for a double whammy, crowd-wise. Look at the numbers of people in the backgrounds of our pictures.

According to the tour, Louis XIV wanted to draw his court and advisors out of Paris into the countryside at least in part so he could keep an eye on them and keep them too busy to meddle in his running of the county. And keep them busy he did. Watching the king get up in the morning, go to bed at night, eat, and go to mass, were all command performances for the noble guests at Versailles. Not to mention the hunting trips, parties, firework displays in the gardens, card and billiard games etc. Hard to get much done with all of the goings on. -BHyre