A Weekend in Versailles – France Today

A palace and so much more, Versailles is the ideal destination for a glamorous weekend getaway.

After years of restorations, Versailles has never shone so brightly and not just the palace. The city of Versailles’s newly opened (or reopened) historic landmarks and cultural spaces, enticing hotels and restaurants and one of the Île-de-France’s best markets make this royal city an excellent choice for more than an afternoon visit to the palace. One of the most visited destinations in the world, when we think of Versailles it’s the palace that springs to mind and that’s exactly what Louis XIV, its mastermind, intended. No mistake that the king took the sun as his symbol and alter-ego – the palace was the star around which everything in France orbited. But it was conceived as much for refuge as for splendour, marked as Louis XIV was by his childhood years of insecurity and uprising among his own princes as, having become king aged four, he awaited the day he would rule in his own right.

To map out his grand project, unprecedented in terms of scale, Louis chose André Le Nôtre, the landscape architect who had already designed the Tuileries and the original plans for the Champs-Élysées in Paris. “Le Nôtre’s plans for Versailles and its gardens included a design for the city,” said art historian Edouard Bergevin, a scholar of Versailles and resident of the city, on a recent tour. “The wide, straight avenues radiating from urban squares we see today were part of that plan.”

Years of restoration work on palace and city have worked their magic. The palace’s massive gilded front gates and royal chapel were unveiled last year, resplendent after years-long restorations. The city too has benefited from ongoing renovations. “For the first time, we can now see Versailles as it was originally,” said Bergevin. You don’t have to be a history buff to delight in a stroll through Le Nôtre’s elegantly styled streets in the neighbourhoods flanking the palace-Notre-Dame to the north (to the right when facing the palace) and Saint-Louis to the south (left of the palace).

In the Quartier Notre-Dame, Versailles’s oldest neighbourhood, 17th-and 18th-century town houses punctuated by charming gardens and squares express a stately elegance. Le Nôtre’s mastery of space and perspective is most easily seen at Place Hoche, the first octagonal town square in France, notable for its views straight to Notre-Dame church, where the Sun King attended services.

Notre-Dame district in the town of Versailles © A Nestora

Filled with pavement cafés and bistros, the squares and gardens around the Quartier Notre-Dame are teeming with activity, especially on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday mornings when the market – the best in the region is in full swing. With four covered halls and a huge outdoor area, this astounding cornucopia presents a riot of colourful produce from every corner of France in mouthwatering abundance. A winding street adjacent to the market leads to the old jail and courthouse under the Ancien Régime, now Versailles’s picturesque Quartier des Antiquaires, a rabbit warren of cobbled streets and shops brimming with antiques, from palace-worthy pieces to bric-a-brac.

Museum-goers have two notable choices in this neighbourhood. The soaring Espace Richaud was originally established as a house of charity by Louis XIV in the 17th century before being made a royal hospital in 1720 by Louis XV; it opened last year as a cultural centre and exhibition space after an impressive top-to-toe renovation. The Hôtel Lambinet, Versailles’s museum of art and history, set back in a lovely courtyard, combines an eccentric collection of antiques, fine artworks and objets in a typical 18th-century noble’s mansion.

The vast L’Ancienne Poste, Versailles’s newest space for contemporary art and exhibitions, is as much a community space as a gallery, where people of all ages can work, play, take a cooking, wine-tasting or yoga class, have a coffee, lunch or snack at the food court, or bask in the sun on the sprawling terrace. For a bite, Versailles’s oldest restaurant, 125-year-old Chapeau, serves all the French classics in a chic, newly renovated space or on the outdoor terrace.

Carré Saint-Louis © Laure Denis

Quartier Saint-Louis

Nothing remains of the 15th-century hamlet of some 500 inhabitants that once stood here, but in the Quartier Saint-Louis, to the south of the palace, a more intimate, village spirit lives on. Here you’ll find pretty gardens, soaring chestnut trees, classic 18th-century buildings painted in warm pastel hues, and inviting restaurants and wine bars, especially along the lively Rue de Satory.

Quartier Saint-Louis’s centrepiece is its cathedral, designed by Jacques Hardouin-Mansart de Sagonne, great grandson of Louis XIV’s favourite architect, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, who was the architect of the Eglise Notre-Dame, Saint-Louis’s counterpart to the north. Louis XV laid the cornerstone in 1743, and came to hear the church’s magnificent new organ (which returned to the church last winter after a six-year restoration) in 1761. Of the 416 shops Louis XV ordered built to form a new craftspeople’s district – the Carrés Saint-Louis, at the intersection of Rue d’Anjou and Rue Royale only 90 remain.

Saint Louis cathedral © Laure Denis

Now listed historic monuments, many of these charming mansard-roofed cottages are returning to their original function as shops, displaying artisans’ wares and other delights to browse. A stroll down the Rue d’Anjou to Rue du Maréchal-Joffre brings you to the Potager du Roi, where you can purchase fresh fruits and vegetables from the royal gardens, in season, along with homemade jams and honey from the royal bees.

A must-see for history buffs, the recently restored Salle du Jeu de Paume once the royal tennis court – witnessed the dramatic events of June 20, 1789, when 576 members of the Third Estate took the historic Tennis Court Oath. Vowing not to disband until they had drafted a new constitution, they set in motion the formation of France’s National Assembly and helped ignite the French Revolution.

After your walk through history, stroll down the Rue du Vieux Versailles to charming Rue de Satory, teeming with wine bars and cafés. For a gourmet lunch you can’t go wrong at Le Bistrot du 11, one of a triumvirate of gastronomic oases in the Saint-Louis district that draw foodies from near and far. If you’ve had the foresight to book ahead (the wait is nearly two months), La Table du 11 is hands down the place to go for dinner out in Versailles. Set in a lovely historic courtyard, Michelin-starred chef and Versailles native Jean-Baptiste Lavergne-Morazzani serves exquisite seasonal cuisine. If you can’t snag a table, La Cave du 11 wine bar is perfect for a glass of wine and a small menu of gourmet plates to share.

For gifts and mementoes, skip the tourist boutiques and head to La Boutique Royale, which is also in the Cour des Senteurs. It’s your best bet for shopping all things Versailles: the high-quality collections range from speciality foods (jams, honey, teas) to candles and perfumes, jewellery, clothing and bath items in Toile de Jouy.

Boutique Royale © Laure DENIS

A night out in Versailles

Nightlife in Versailles can be a glamorous affair. The exquisite Opéra Royal – inaugurated in 1770 for the wedding feast of 15-year-old Louis XVI to 14-year-old Marie Antoinette is one of the world’s most beautiful opera houses, with an A-list programme of opera, ballet, chamber music and modern dance. A few steps away, the lovely Montansier theatre, which opened in 1777, is one of the oldest theatres in France. For a casual movie night, the grand Art Deco-style Cyrano Cinema is where the Beatles played their French debut concert in 1964.

The Académie Équestre de Versailles, headed by Bartabas, founder of the Zingaro equestrian cabaret, is one of the few places on earth that teaches equestrian choreography and dressage (along with fencing, dance and traditional Japanese archery). Performances, held in the royal stables opposite the château, are an experience to behold, with the option of visiting the historic stables afterwards.

Royal Opera ©Pascal Le Mée

VERSAILLES ESSENTIALS

GETTING THERE

From Paris, take RER C to Versailles Château Rive Gauche. You can reach this RER line at several stops from a number of metro lines.

CONTACT

Versailles Tourist Office

The tourist office is your best bet for arranging group or individual tours of the city, which are highly recommended. The tourist office works closely with the château, so you can also book tours of Versailles palace that include private rooms closed to the general public (book online or by phone if you need more information). Located right across the street from the Rive Gauche train station, this should be your first stop before any visit to Versailles.

en.versailles-tourisme.com

+33 (0) 1 39 24 88 88

Place Lyautey, 78000 Versailles

WHERE TO STAY

For proximity to the palace, you can’t do better than the beautiful new Les Lumières hotel, which is just a five-minute walk from the château gates.
The hotel is set in two conjoined 18th-century mansions and about half of the 31 luxe-contemporary guest rooms face the palace. Guests can dine at the hotel’s La Table des Lumières, or enjoy drinks and small dishes at the Bar des Philosophes. But the pièce de réstistance is Paris pastry star Pierre Hermé’s resplendent café, with soaring mirrors, glittering chandeliers, rosy banquettes and high arched windows facing the palace.

If you’re coming by car and want a more bucolic experience, the new Dolce by Wyndham hotel, set in the lovely Domaine du Montcel park in Jouy-en-Josas, is more like a village than a hotel, with an elegant restaurant and bar, a fully-equipped spa, indoor and outdoor pools and chic contemporary rooms. The delightful Toile de Jouy muscum is just a few minutes’ walk from the hotel.

From France Today Magazine

Lead photo credit : Palace of Versailles, Photo: Shutterstock