Hey guys, back at it again! This blog post is about the two days we spent in Versailles, France. Versailles is just outside of Paris, some may consider apart of Paris, I'm not too sure. The main reason to go here can probably be inferred from the name of the town! The Place of Versailles is located there! Since sophomore year, and learning about the french revolution and the Sun King, I always wanted to visit the Place of Versailles, and after you read and see my post, I know you'll want to as well, because it was a blast!
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We began our journey to Versailles France from Paris. I honestly had no idea how we were going to get there, up until this point I had pretty much pre-planned how to get to and from certain destinations. We packed our backpacks and set off on foot. The night before I saw a Metro-station, so we began there. We road the metro for about $1.50 a person to a stop called Versailles, only to find out we were only about half-way there. We walked around the station, finding a subway, but there was no WiFi. We just walked in a direction until we found a place that offered WiFi. We stumbled upon a McDonalds!
If you ever need wifi in Europe, there is a good chance that you can find a McD's and they will have it for free. We stopped and I was able to look up the info I needed. It was about a 10 walk to the train station, that took us all the way into Versailles station. The main station is about a 5 minute walk from the place, you can practically see it from the station. It was pouring down rain the minute we got to Versailles, and so we couldn't walk to our hotel.
At this point I was even more sick than the day before ( like deathly sick). We got a cab to our hotel, which was about a 10 minute ride, it was a life saver. We checked in, the hotel was like an apartment building and a hotel. It was a modern, and really nice. The first time in a while where we had a hotel with our own bathroom since Florence! But the hot water barely ran, and the staff hours were ridiculous. I was so sick, and all I wanted was to take a hot shower.
We spent the whole day at the hotel, while I rested up. The original plan was to spend half day at the Place, and then the next day as well. It is such a big place, and you can purchase a two-day pass. Unforchantly, we were unable to do so. But one day was sufficient!
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We got up the next morning, and I felt well enough that we could go to the Place! We got a bus there, and then walked over to the place. You enter from the back. They sell tickets there, the line was short to buy the tickets, but they had closed one entrance so we waited in line to get in for about an hour and a half, before we went in. It's worth the wait.
(Funny side antidote)
While we were waiting in line, there was a group of ladies, who did not understand personal space. It was raining and one woman kept getting her umbrella stuck in my hair, and poking me in the eyes.
The Palace was everything I could image. You start by walking into a hall with the history of the Palace. They also give you a map. We walked around through many rooms, like the king's quarters, and the famous Hall of Mirrors. Every detail was absolutely amazing!! From the painted cellings, to the gold details! Ah!
While the inside of the Place is remarkable, it's the gardens that you really want to see! Wow, so immaculate, gorgeous green lush, amazing fountains. I like to describe going to the Place of Versailles as going to a theme park, without the rides. In the gardens there are restaurants and you can rent golf carts to ride around. You can rent bikes, and boats. It's truly an amazing! We spent the entire day there, and still missed so much! It was truly a special experience, and I would highly recommend it to anyone ! Even as a day trip from Paris, it would be spectacular.
My only advice is to get there early, to stand in the lines. You can also buy your ticket ahead of time. I also recommend going to their gift shop they have the cutest trinkets. They have one both in the Place and in the gardens. I got my mom a little water can candle from the gardens, because my mom loves to garden!
We got up the next morning, still unable to get a hot shower btw, super early, because we had flight to catch to Barcelona!
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Thanks for reading!