View source for Palace of Versailles

{{Short description|Former royal residence in Versailles, France}}
{{Redirect|Versailles|the commune|Versailles, Yvelines|other uses|Versailles (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox building
| name             = Palace of Versailles
| native_name      = {{native name|fr|Château de Versailles}}
| logo             =
| logo_size        = 300
| image            = {{photomontage
| photo1a      = Versailles-Chateau-Jardins02.jpg
| photo2a      = Chateau Versailles Galerie des Glaces.jpg
| photo3a      = 
| size         = 300
| color        = transparent
| border       = 0
| foot_montage = Garden façade and fountains; [[Hall of Mirrors]]}}
|mapframe-frame-width=300
|mapframe=yes
|mapframe-caption=Interactive fullscreen map
|mapframe-zoom=14
|mapframe-marker=museum
|mapframe-wikidata=yes
|mapframe-stroke-width=2
|coordinates={{WikidataCoord|display=it}}
| location         = [[Versailles, Yvelines|Versailles]], France
| start_date       = {{Start date and age|1661}}
| architectural_style = [[Classicalism]] and [[French Baroque|Baroque]]
| owner            = Government of France
| website          = {{URL|en.chateauversailles.fr}}
| embedded         = {{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
 |child         = yes
 |Official_name = Chateau and Park of Versailles
 |ID            = 83
 |Year          = 1979
 |Criteria      = Cultural: i, ii, vi
 |Area          = {{convert|800|ha|abbr=on}}
 |Buffer_zone   = {{convert|9,467|ha|abbr=on}}
 }}
}}

The '''Palace of Versailles''' ({{IPAc-en|v|ɛər|ˈ|s|aɪ|,_|v|ɜːr|ˈ|s|aɪ}} {{respell|vair|SY|,_|vur|SY}};<ref>{{cite web|title=Versailles|url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/versailles|website=[[Dictionary.com]]|access-date=1 July 2021}}</ref> {{langx|fr|château de Versailles}}<!--Not capitalized in French.--> {{IPA|fr|ʃɑto d(ə) vɛʁsɑj||Fr-Château de Versaille.wav}}) is a former royal residence commissioned by King [[Louis XIV]] located in [[Versailles, Yvelines|Versailles]], about {{convert|18|km}} west of the city centre of [[Paris]], in the [[Yvelines|Yvelines department]] of [[Île-de-France|Île-de-France region]] in [[France]].

The palace is owned by the government of France and since 1995 has been managed, under the direction of the [[Ministry of Culture (France)|French Ministry of Culture]], by the [[Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Public Establishment |url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/public-establishment#our-missions |website=Palace of Versailles |date=31 October 2016 |access-date=20 December 2021}}</ref> About 15,000,000 people visit the palace, park, or [[gardens of Versailles]] every year, making it one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world.<ref>{{cite web|title=Palace of Versailles (Château de Versailles)|url=https://us.france.fr/en/paris/article/palace-versailles-chateau-versailles|work=Explore France|publisher=Government of France|date=18 June 2021|access-date=3 August 2021|archive-date=18 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218123944/https://us.france.fr/en/paris/article/palace-versailles-chateau-versailles|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Louis XIII]] built a hunting lodge at Versailles in 1623. His successor, Louis XIV, expanded the château into a palace that went through several expansions in phases from 1661 to 1715. It was a favourite residence for both kings, and in 1682, Louis XIV moved the seat of his court and government to Versailles, making the palace the ''[[de facto]]'' capital of France. This state of affairs was continued by Kings [[Louis XV]] and [[Louis XVI]], who primarily made interior alterations to the palace, but in 1789 the royal family and French court returned to Paris. For the rest of the [[French Revolution]], the Palace of Versailles was largely abandoned and emptied of its contents, and the population of the surrounding city plummeted.

[[Napoleon]], following [[Coronation of Napoleon|his coronation as Emperor]], used the subsidiary palace, [[Grand Trianon]], as a summer residence from 1810 to 1814, but did not use the main palace. Following the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbon Restoration]], when the king was returned to the throne, he resided in Paris and it was not until the 1830s that meaningful repairs were made to the palace. A [[Musée de l'Histoire de France (Versailles)|museum of French history]] was installed within it, replacing the courtiers apartments of the southern wing.

The palace and park were designated a [[World Heritage Site]] by [[UNESCO]] in 1979 for its importance as the centre of power, art, and science in France during the 17th and 18th centuries.<ref name = "unesco">{{cite web |url = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/83 |title = Palace and Park of Versailles |website = UNESCO World Heritage Centre |publisher = United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization |access-date = 9 October 2021}}</ref> The French Ministry of Culture has placed the palace, its gardens, and some of its [[Subsidiary structures of the Palace of Versailles|subsidiary structures]] on its [[Base Mérimée|list of culturally significant monuments]].

==History==
{{Main article|History of the Palace of Versailles}}

[[File:Versailles on the 1652 map of Paris by Gomboust - Gallica 2012.jpg|thumb|right|Versailles around 1652, engraving by {{ill|Jacques Gomboust|fr}}|alt=An engraving of Louis XIII's château as it appeared in 1652]]

In 1623,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=2}}{{sfn|Ayers|2004|p=333}} [[Louis XIII]], [[king of France]], built a [[Pavillon de chasse|hunting lodge]] on a hill in a favourite hunting ground, {{convert|12|mi|order=flip}} west of [[Paris]],{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=1–2}} and {{convert|10|mi|order=flip}} from his primary residence, the [[Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye]].{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=369}} The site, near a village named Versailles,{{efn|The name "Versailles", first used in 1038,{{sfn|City of Versailles: History}} from the Old French word ''versail'',{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=12}} comes from the Latin word ''vertere'';{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=1}} both mean "ploughed field".{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=12}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=1}}}} was a wooded wetland that Louis XIII's court scorned as being generally unworthy of a king;{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=15}} one of his courtiers, [[François de Bassompierre]], wrote that the lodge "would not inspire vanity in even the simplest gentleman".{{sfn|Ayers|2004|p=333}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=53}} From 1631 to 1634, architect [[Philibert Le Roy]] replaced the lodge with a [[château]] for Louis XIII,{{sfn|Jones|2018|pp=15–16}}{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=53}} who forbade his queen, [[Anne of Austria]], from staying there overnight,{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=16}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=3}} even when an outbreak of [[smallpox]] at [[Saint-Germain-en-Laye]] in 1641 forced Louis XIII to relocate to Versailles with his three-year-old heir, the future [[Louis XIV]].{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=16}}{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: History}}

When Louis XIII died in 1643, Anne became Louis XIV's [[regent]],{{sfn|Bohanan|2001|p=58}} and Louis XIII's château was abandoned for the next decade. She moved the court back to Paris,{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=17}} where Anne and her [[Chief minister of France|chief minister]], [[Cardinal Mazarin]], continued Louis XIII's unpopular monetary practices. This led to [[the Fronde]], a series of revolts against royal authority from 1648 to 1653 that masked a struggle between Mazarin and the [[princes of the blood]], Louis XIV's extended family, for influence over him.{{sfn|Bohanan|2001|pp=58, 60, 66}} In the aftermath of the Fronde, Louis XIV became determined to rule alone.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=26}}{{sfn|Bohanan|2001|p=66}} Following Mazarin's death in 1661,{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=18}} Louis XIV reformed his government to exclude his mother and the princes of the blood,{{sfn|Bohanan|2001|p=66}} moved the court back to Saint-Germain-en-Laye,{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=25}} and ordered the expansion of his father's château at Versailles into a palace.{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=16}}{{sfn|Hoog|1996|pp=369–70}}

Louis XIV had hunted at Versailles in the 1650s,{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=53}}{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: History}} but did not take any special interest in Versailles until 1661.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=4–5}} On 17 August 1661,{{sfn|Bonney|2007|p=223}} Louis XIV was a guest at a sumptuous festival hosted by [[Nicolas Fouquet]], the [[Superintendent of Finances]], at his palatial residence, the [[Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte]].{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=18}}{{sfn|Blanning|2002|p=33}} Louis XIV was impressed by the château and its gardens,{{sfn|Blanning|2002|p=33}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=19}} which were the work of [[Louis Le Vau]], the [[First Architect to the King|court architect]] since 1654, [[André Le Nôtre]], the royal gardener since 1657, and [[Charles Le Brun]],{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=53}} a painter in royal service since 1647.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Charles Le Brun}} Vaux-le-Vicomte's scale and opulence led him to imprison Fouquet that September, as he had also built an island fortress and a private army.{{sfn|Blanning|2002|p=33}}{{sfn|Berger|1994|pp=18–19}} But Louis XIV was also inspired by Vaux-le-Vicomte,{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=41}} and he recruited its authors for his own projects.{{sfn|Blanning|2002|p=40}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=42}} Louis XIV replaced Fouquet with [[Jean-Baptiste Colbert]],{{sfn|Bohanan|2001|p=66}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=19}} a protégé of Mazarin and enemy of Fouquet,{{sfn|Bonney|2007|pp=208–10}} and charged him with managing the corps of artisans in royal employment.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=5}}{{sfn|Blanning|2002|p=36}} Colbert acted as the intermediary between them and Louis XIV,{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=20}} who personally directed and inspected the planning and construction of Versailles.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=9}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=35}}{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=25}}

===Construction===
{{Multiple image
|image1=Chateau de Versailles 1668 Pierre Patel.jpg|caption1=Versailles in 1668, painted by [[Pierre Patel]]|alt1=A painting of the Palace and Versailles and its gardens as it appeared in 1668
|image2=Chateau de Versailles 1675FXD.jpg|caption2=Le Vau's garden façade around 1675|alt2=A painting of the garden façade built by Louis Le Vau from 1668 to 1670
}}

Work at Versailles was at first concentrated on [[Gardens of Versailles|gardens]],{{sfn|Walton|1986|pp=55–63}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=4}} and through the 1660s, Le Vau only added two detached service wings and a forecourt to the château.{{sfn|Ayers|2004|p=334}}{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=54}} But in 1668–69,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=6}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=67}} as a response to the growth of the gardens,{{sfn|Walton|1986|pp=62–63, 69}} and the [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668)]],{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=6}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=67}} Louis XIV decided to turn Versailles into a full-scale royal residence.{{sfn|Ayers|2004|p=334}}{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=61}} He vacillated between replacing or incorporating his father's château, but settled on the latter by the end of the decade,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=6}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=67}}{{sfn|Berger|1994|pp=61, 64}} and from 1668 to 1671,{{sfn|Ayers|2004|pp=334–35}} Louis XIII's château was encased on three sides in a feature dubbed the ''[[wikt:enveloppe#French|enveloppe]]''.{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=67}}{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=64}} This gave the château a new, [[Italianate architecture|Italianate]] façade overlooking the gardens, but preserved the courtyard façade,{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=370}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=7}} resulting in a mix of styles and materials that dismayed Louis XIV{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=7}} and that Colbert described as a "patchwork".{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=24}} Attempts to homogenize the two façades failed, and in 1670 Le Vau died,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=7–8}} leaving the post of First Architect to the King vacant for the next seven years.{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=22}}

Le Vau was succeeded at Versailles by his assistant, architect [[François d'Orbay]].{{sfn|Berger|1985|p=22}} Work at the palace during the 1670s focused on its interiors, as the palace was then nearing completion,{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=370}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=91}} though d'Orbay expanded Le Vau's service wings and connected them to the château,{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=370}} and built a pair of pavilions for government employees in the forecourt.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: History}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=22}} In 1670, d'Orbay was tasked by Louis XIV with designing a city, also called [[Versailles, Yvelines|Versailles]],{{sfn|City of Versailles: History}} to house and service Louis XIV's growing government and court.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=7–8}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=38}} The granting of land to courtiers for the construction of [[Hôtel particulier|townhouses]] that resembled the palace began in 1671.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=7–8}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|pp=27–28}} The next year, the [[Franco-Dutch War]] began and funding for Versailles was cut until 1674,{{sfn|Walton|1986|pp=50–51}} when Louis XIV had work begun on the {{ill|Ambassadors' Staircase|fr|Escalier des Ambassadeurs}}, a grand staircase for the reception of guests, and demolished the last of the village of Versailles.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=9, 11}}

[[File:General view of Versailles in circa 1682 by Adam Perelle.png|thumb|left|Versailles around 1682, engraving by [[Adam Perelle]]]]

Following the end of the Franco-Dutch War with French victory in 1678, Louis XIV appointed as First Architect [[Jules Hardouin-Mansart]],{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=25}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=93}} an experienced architect in Louis XIV's confidence,{{sfn|Berger|1994|pp=86–87, 113}} who would benefit from a restored budget and large workforce of former soldiers.{{sfn|Walton|1986|pp=50–51}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=18}} Mansart began his tenure with the addition from 1678 to 1681 of the [[Hall of Mirrors]],{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=115}} a renovation of the courtyard façade of Louis XIII's château,{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=35}} and the expansion of d'Orbay's pavilions to create the [[Ministers' Wings]] in 1678–79.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Capital}} Adjacent to the palace, Hardouin-Mansart built a pair of [[stables]] called the [[Grande Écurie|Grande]] and [[Petite Écurie|Petite Écuries]] from 1679 to 1682{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=114}}{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Royal Stables}} and the {{ill|Grand Commun|fr}}, which housed the palace's servants and general kitchens, from 1682 to 1684.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Grand Commun}} Hardouin-Mansart also added two entirely new wings in Le Vau's Italianate style to house the court,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=10–11}} first at the south end of the palace from 1679 to 1681{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=43}} and then at its north end from 1685 to 1689.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: History}}

War and the resulting diminished funding slowed construction at Versailles for the rest of the 17th century.{{sfn|Walton|1986|pp=50–51}} The [[Nine Years' War]], which began in 1688, stopped work altogether until 1698.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=18}} Three years later, however, the even more expensive [[War of the Spanish Succession]] began and,{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=51}} combined with poor harvests in 1693–94 and 1709–10,{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=52}}{{sfn|Doyle|2001|p=190}} plunged France into crisis.{{sfn|Doyle|2001|p=190}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|pp=51–52}} Louis XIV thus slashed funding and cancelled some of the work Hardouin-Mansart had planned in the 1680s, such as the remodelling of the courtyard façade in the Italianate style. Louis XIV and Hardouin-Mansart focused on a permanent [[Chapels of Versailles|palace chapel]],{{sfn|Walton|1986|pp=50–51}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=17–19}} the construction of which lasted from 1699 to 1710.{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=370}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=53}}

[[File:Nicolas Cochin Masked Ball 1745.jpg|thumb|A masked ball in the [[Hall of Mirrors]] (1745) by [[Charles-Nicolas Cochin]]]]

Louis XIV's successors, [[Louis XV]] and [[Louis XVI]], largely left Versailles as they inherited it and focused on the palace's interiors. Louis XV's modifications began in the 1730s, with the completion of the [[Salon d'Hercule]], a [[ballroom]] in the north wing, and the expansion of the [[Petit appartement du roi|king's private apartment]],{{Sfn|Jones|2018|p=59–60, 65}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=20–21}} which required the demolition of the Ambassadors' Staircase.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=9}} In 1748, Louis XV began construction of a palace theatre, the [[Royal Opera of Versailles]] at the northernmost end of the palace,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=21}}{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Royal Opera}} but completion was delayed until 1770;{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Royal Opera}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=61}} construction was interrupted in the 1740s by the [[War of the Austrian Succession]] and then again in 1756 with the start of the [[Seven Years' War]].{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=21}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=61}} These wars emptied the royal treasury<!--Spawforth p21--> and thereafter construction was mostly funded by [[Madame du Barry]], Louis XV's favourite mistress.<!--{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=21, 23}}--> In 1771, Louis XV had the northern Ministers' Wing rebuilt in Neoclassical style by [[Ange-Jacques Gabriel]], his court architect, as it was in the process of falling down. That work was also stopped by financial constraints,<!--{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=22–23}} and it was not completed until 1780.{{cn|date=September 2021}}--> and it remained incomplete when Louis XV died in 1774. In 1784, Louis XVI briefly moved the royal family to the [[Château de Saint-Cloud]] ahead of more renovations to the Palace of Versailles, but construction could not begin because of financial difficulty and [[Causes of the French Revolution|political crisis]].{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=21–24}} In 1789, the [[French Revolution]] swept the royal family and government out of Versailles forever.{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=370}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=24}}

===Role in politics and culture===
[[File:Réception du Grand Condé à Versailles (Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1878).png|thumb|''[[Reception of the Grand Condé at Versailles]]'', painted by [[Jean-Léon Gérôme]]]]

The Palace of Versailles was key to Louis XIV's politics, as an expression and concentration of [[French art]] and [[French culture|culture]], and for the centralization of royal power.{{sfn|Blanning|2002|pp=33–40}}{{sfn|Bohanan|2001|pp=61–64}} Louis XIV first used Versailles to promote himself with a series of nighttime festivals in its gardens in 1664, 1668, and 1674,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=4–5}} the events of which were disseminated throughout Europe by print and engravings.{{sfn|Blanning|2002|p=49}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|pp=57, 59}} As early as 1669,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=6}} but especially from 1678,{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=26}} Louis XIV sought to make Versailles his seat of government, and he expanded the palace so as to fit the court within it.{{sfn|Bohanan|2001|p=62}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=42}}{{sfn|Doyle|2001|p=173}} The moving of the court to Versailles did not come until 1682,{{sfn|Doyle|2001|p=173}} however, and not officially, as opinion on Versailles was mixed among the [[nobility of France]].{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=53}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=14}}

By 1687, however, it was evident to all that Versailles was the ''[[de facto]]'' capital of France,{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Capital}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=15}} and Louis XIV succeeded in attracting the nobility to Versailles to pursue prestige and royal patronage within a strict court etiquette,{{sfn|Bohanan|2001|pp=61–64}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=42}}{{sfn|Blanning|2002|pp=31–34, 40}}{{efn|At any given moment during Louis XIV's reign, about 5% of France's nobles were at court in Versailles. Bohanan places the exact number of persons normally present at Versailles as 5,000 nobles and an equal number of commoners,{{sfn|Bohanan|2001|pp=62, 64}} while Blanning gives 1,000 nobles and 4,000 servants.{{sfn|Blanning|2002|p=36}}}} thus eroding their traditional provincial power bases.{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=42}}{{sfn|Doyle|2001|p=173}}{{sfn|Swann|2001|pp=143, 145}} It was at the Palace of Versailles that Louis XIV received the [[Doge of Genoa]], [[Francesco Maria Imperiale Lercari]] in 1685,{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Reception of the Doge of Genoa}} [[Siamese embassy to France (1686)|an embassy]] from the [[Ayutthaya Kingdom]] in 1686,{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Reception of the Ambassador of Siam}} and [[Persian embassy to Louis XIV|an embassy]] from [[Safavid Iran]] in 1715.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Reception of the Ambassadors of Persia}}

Louis XIV died at Versailles on 1 September 1715 and was succeeded by his five-year-old great-grandson, [[Louis XV]],{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=52}}{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Death of Louis XIV}} then the [[duke of Anjou]],{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=57}} who was moved to the [[Château de Vincennes]] and then to Paris by Louis XV's regent, [[Philippe II, Duke of Orléans]].{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Death of Louis XIV}} Versailles was neglected until 1722,{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: History}} when Philippe II removed the court to Versailles to escape the unpopularity of his regency,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=20}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=58}} and when Louis XV began his majority.{{sfn|Swann|2001|p=201}} The 1715 move, however, broke the cultural power of Versailles,{{sfn|Doyle|2001|p=91}} and during the reign of [[Louis XVI]], courtiers spent their leisure in Paris, not Versailles.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: History}}

[[File:The story of the greatest nations, from the dawn of history to the twentieth century - a comprehensive history, founded upon the leading authorities, including a complete chronology of the world, and (14586749738).jpg|thumb|The 7-year-old [[Mozart]] during his stay at the palace]]

During Christmas 1763, [[Mozart family grand tour|Mozart and his family visited]] Versailles and dined with the King. The 7-year-old [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]] played several works during his stay and later dedicated his first two harpsichord sonatas, published in 1764 in Paris, to [[Victoire of France (1733–1799)|Madame Victoria]], daughter of Louis XV.<ref>{{cite web |title=Visit from the child Mozart (1763-1764) |url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/visit-child-mozart-1763-1764 |website=The Palace of Versailles |date=23 August 2018 |access-date=10 July 2023}}</ref>

In 1783, the palace was the site of the signing of the last two of the three treaties of the [[Peace of Paris (1783)]], which ended the [[American Revolutionary War]]. On 3 September, British and American delegates, led by [[Benjamin Franklin]], signed the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]] at the Hôtel d'York (now 56 Rue Jacob) in Paris, granting the United States independence. On 4 September, Spain and France signed separate treaties with Britain at the Palace of Versailles, formally ending the war.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-declaration-of-independence/treaty-of-paris/|title=The Treaty of Paris|website=www.constitutionfacts.com}}</ref>

The King and Queen learned of the [[Storming of the Bastille]] in Paris on 14 July 1789, while they were at the palace, and remained isolated there as the [[French Revolution|Revolution]] in Paris spread. The growing anger in Paris led to the [[Women's March on Versailles]] on 5 October 1789. A crowd of several thousand men and women, protesting the high price and scarcity of bread, marched from the markets of Paris to Versailles. They took weapons from the city armoury, besieged the palace, and compelled the King and royal family and the members of the [[National Constituent Assembly (France)|National Constituent Assembly]] to return with them to Paris the following day.{{Sfn|Lacaille|2012|pp=16–17}}

As soon as the royal family departed, the palace was closed. In 1792, the [[National Convention]], the new revolutionary government, ordered the transfer of all the paintings and sculptures from the palace to the [[Louvre]]. In 1793, the Convention declared the abolition of the monarchy and ordered all of the royal property in the palace to be sold at auction.  The auction took place between 25 August 1793 and 11 August 1794. The furnishings and art of the palace, including the furniture, mirrors, baths, and kitchen equipment, were sold in seventeen thousand lots. All fleurs-de-lys and royal emblems on the buildings were chambered or chiselled off. The empty buildings were turned into a storehouse for furnishings, art and libraries confiscated from the nobility. The empty grand apartments were opened for tours beginning in 1793, and a small museum of French paintings and art school was opened in some of the empty rooms.{{Sfn|Lacaille|2012|p=18}}

By virtue of an order issued by the Versailles district directorate in August 1794, the [[The Royal Gate of the Palace of Versailles|Royal Gate]] was destroyed, the Cour Royale was cleared and the Cour de Marbre lost its precious floor.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Heitzmann |first1=Annick |last2=Didier |first2=Frédéric |title=La Grille et la Cour royales |journal=Versalia. Revue de la Société des Amis de Versailles |date=2007 |volume=10 |pages=26–43 |doi=10.3406/versa.2007.871 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/versa_1285-8412_2007_num_10_1_871 |access-date=7 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Maral |first1=Alexandre |title=Octobre 1789: Versailles déserté |date=24 October 2018 |url=http://www.lescarnetsdeversailles.fr/2018/10/octobre-1789-versailles-deserte/ |access-date=7 June 2023}}</ref>

=== 19th century – history museum and government venue ===
[[File:Antechamber of the Emperor at Grand Trianon 001.jpg|thumb|The Lords' Antechamber at [[Grand Trianon]]]]
[[File:L'Opéra-visite de la reine Victoria 1855.jpg|thumb|right|Banquet for Queen Victoria hosted by [[Napoleon III]] in the [[Royal Opera of Versailles]], August 1855 by [[Eugene Lami]]]] 
[[File:A v Werner - Kaiserproklamation am 18 Januar 1871 (3. Fassung 1885).jpg|thumb|right|''Proclamation of the [[German Empire]], 18 January 1871'', 1877 by [[Anton von Werner]]]]

When [[Napoleon]] became Emperor of the French in 1804, he considered making Versailles his residence but abandoned the idea because of the cost of the renovation. Prior to his marriage with [[Marie-Louise of Austria|Marie-Louise]] in 1810, he had the [[Grand Trianon]] restored and refurnished as a springtime residence for himself and his family, in the style of furnishing that it is seen today.{{Sfn|Lacaille|2012|page=19}}

In 1815, with the final downfall of Napoleon, [[Louis XVIII]], the younger brother of Louis XVI, became king, and considered returning the royal residence to Versailles, where he had been born. He ordered the restoration of the royal apartments, but the task and cost was too great. Louis XVIII had the far end of the south wing of the ''Cour Royale'' demolished and rebuilt (1814–1824) to match the Gabriel wing of 1780 opposite, which gave greater uniformity of appearance to the front entrance.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=244}} Neither he nor his successor [[Charles X of France|Charles X]] lived at Versailles.{{Sfn|Lacaille|2012|page=19}}

The [[French Revolution of 1830]] brought a new monarch, [[Louis Philippe I|Louis-Philippe]] to power, and a new ambition for Versailles. He did not reside at Versailles but began the creation of the [[Musée de l'Histoire de France (Versailles)|Museum of the History of France]], dedicated to "all the glories of France", which had been used to house some members of the royal family. The museum was begun in 1833 and inaugurated on 30 June 1837. Its most famous room is the [[Galerie des Batailles]] (Hall of Battles), which lies on most of the length of the second floor of the south wing.{{sfn|Hoog|1996|pp=369–374}} The museum project largely came to a halt when Louis Philippe was overthrown in 1848, though the paintings of French heroes and great battles still remain in the south wing.

Emperor [[Napoleon III]] used the palace on occasion as a stage for grand ceremonies. One of the most lavish was the banquet that he hosted for [[Queen Victoria]] in the [[Royal Opera of Versailles]] on 25 August 1855.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/visit-queen-victoria-1855|title=Visit of Queen Victoria, 1855|date=22 November 2016|website=Palace of Versailles}}</ref>

During the [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870–1871, the palace was occupied by the [[German General Staff|general staff]] of the victorious German Army. Parts of the château, including the Hall of Mirrors, were turned into a military hospital. The creation of the [[German Empire]], combining [[Prussia]] and the surrounding German states under [[William I, German Emperor|William I]], was formally [[Proclamation of the German Empire|proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors]] on 18 January 1871. The Germans remained in the palace until the signing of the armistice in March 1871. In that month, the government of the new [[Third French Republic]], which had departed Paris during the war for [[Tours]] and then [[Bordeaux]], moved into the palace. The [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]] held its meetings in the Opera House.{{Sfn|Lacaille|2012|page=12}}

The uprising of the [[Paris Commune]] in March 1871, prevented the French government, under [[Adolphe Thiers]], from returning immediately to Paris. The military operation which suppressed the Commune at the end of May was directed from Versailles, and the prisoners of the Commune were marched there and put on trial in military courts. In 1875 a second parliamentary body, the [[French Senate]], was created and held its meetings for the election of a President of the Republic in a new hall created in 1876 in the south wing of the palace. The French Senate and National Assembly continue to meet in the palace in [[Congress of the French Parliament|joint session]] on special occasions, such as the amendment of the [[Constitution of France]].{{Sfn|Lacaille|2012|page=20}}

===20th century===
[[File:William Orpen - The Signing of Peace in the Hall of Mirrors.jpg|thumb|''[[The Signing of Peace in the Hall of Mirrors, Versailles, 28 June 1919]]'' by [[William Orpen]]]]

The end of the 19th and the early 20th century saw the beginning of restoration efforts at the palace, first led by [[Pierre de Nolhac]], poet and scholar and the first conservator, who began his work in 1892. The conservation and restoration were interrupted by two world wars but have continued until the present day.{{Sfn|Lacaille|2012|page=13}}

The palace returned to the world stage in June 1919, when, after six months of negotiations, the [[Treaty of Versailles]], formally ending the First World War, was signed in the [[Hall of Mirrors]]. Between 1925 and 1928, the American philanthropist and multi-millionaire [[John D. Rockefeller, Jr.]] gave $2,166,000, the equivalent of about 38 million dollars in 2024, to restore and refurbish the palace.<ref>Iverson, Jeffrey, ''France Today'', 19 July 2014</ref>

More work took place after World War II, with the restoration of the [[Royal Opera of Versailles]]. The theatre was reopened in 1957, in the presence of Queen [[Elizabeth II]] of the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.versailles3d.com/en/over-the-centuries/xxe/1957.html|title=1957 – XXth century – Over the centuries – Versailles 3d|website=www.versailles3d.com|date=April 2022 }}</ref>

In 1978, parts of the palace were heavily damaged in a [[1978 Palace of Versailles bombing|bombing committed by Breton terrorists]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/06/26/archives/versailles-palace-is-damaged-by-bomb-heavy-explosion-wrecks-three.html |title=Versailles Palace Is Damaged By Bomb |work=The New York Times |date=26 June 1978 |access-date=10 April 2020}}</ref>

Starting in the 1950s, when the museum of Versailles was under the directorship of Gérald van der Kemp, the objective was to restore the palace to its state&nbsp;– or as close to it as possible&nbsp;– in 1789 when the royal family left the palace. Among the early projects was the repair of the roof over the Hall of Mirrors; the publicity campaign brought international attention to the plight of post-war Versailles and garnered much foreign money including a grant from the [[Rockefeller Foundation]].

One of the more costly endeavours for the museum and the [[French Fifth Republic]] has been to repurchase as much of the original furnishings as possible. Consequently, because furniture with a royal provenance&nbsp;– and especially furniture that was made for Versailles&nbsp;– is a highly sought-after commodity on the international market, the museum has spent considerable funds on retrieving much of the palace's original furnishings.<ref>{{harvnb|Kemp|1976|page=135–137}}</ref>

===21st century===
[[File:Paris 2024 Men's Modern Pentathlon Park Of The Chateau Of Versailles.jpg|thumb|Modern Pentathlon Park for the 2024 Summer Olympics.]]
In 2003, a new restoration initiative&nbsp;– the "Grand Versailles" project&nbsp;– was started, which began with the replanting of the gardens, which had lost over 10,000 trees during [[Cyclone Lothar]] on 26 December 1999. One part of the initiative, the restoration of the [[Hall of Mirrors]], was completed in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lexpress.fr/mag/arts/dossier/patrimoine/dossier.asp?ida=451314 |last=Leloup |first=Michèle |date=7 September 2006 |title=Versailles en grande toilette |language=fr |work=[[L'Express]] |access-date=4 January 2021 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215140113/http://www.lexpress.fr/mag/arts/dossier/patrimoine/dossier.asp?ida=451314 |archive-date=15 February 2008}}</ref> Another major project was the further restoration of the backstage areas of the [[Royal Opera of Versailles]] in 2007 to 2009.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Royal Opera}}

The Palace of Versailles is currently owned by the French state. Its formal title is the [[Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles]]. Since 1995, it has been run as a Public Establishment, with an independent administration and management supervised by the [[French Ministry of Culture]].<ref>Site of the Public Establishment of the Chateau of Versailles (en.chateauversailles.fr)</ref>

The grounds of the palace hosted the equestrian competition during the [[2024 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Château de Versailles |url=https://www.paris2024.org/en/venue/chateau-de-versailles/ |access-date=29 July 2022 |website=Paris 2024 |language=en |archive-date=2 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402235012/https://www.paris2024.org/en/venue/chateau-de-versailles/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Architecture and plan==
[[File:Plans du rez-de-chaussée et du premier étage du palais de Versailles, Éditeur Gavard, premier étage - Gallica 2011 (detail, color-coded).jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.5|Plan of the main floor ({{Circa|1837}}, with north to the right), showing the [[Hall of Mirrors]] in red, the [[Galerie des Batailles|Hall of Battles]] in green, the [[Royal Chapel of Versailles|Royal Chapel]] in yellow, and the [[Royal Opera of Versailles|Royal Opera]] in blue]]

The Palace of Versailles is a visual history of French architecture from the 1630s to the 1780s. Its earliest portion, the ''[[corps de logis]]'', was built for [[Louis XIII]] in the [[Louis XIII style|style of his reign]] with brick, marble, and [[slate]],{{sfn|Ayers|2004|p=333}} which Le Vau surrounded in the 1660s with ''Enveloppe'', an edifice that was inspired by [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance-era]] Italian villas.{{sfn|Berger|1985|pp=23–25}} When [[Jules Hardouin-Mansart]] made further expansions to the palace in the 1680s, he used the ''Enveloppe'' as the model for his work.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=10–11}} [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]] additions were made to the palace with the remodelling of the [[Ministers' Wings]] in the 1770s, by [[Ange-Jacques Gabriel]], and after the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbon Restoration]].{{sfn|Jones|2018|pp=61–62, 122}}

The palace was largely completed by the death of Louis XIV in 1715. The eastern facing palace has a U-shaped layout, with the corps de logis and symmetrical advancing secondary wings terminating with the Dufour Pavilion on the south and the Gabriel Pavilion to the north, creating an expansive [[cour d'honneur]] known as the Royal Court (Cour Royale). Flanking the Royal Court are two enormous asymmetrical wings that result in a façade of {{convert|402|m|ft}} in length.<ref>{{cite news|title=History of Art|newspaper=Visual Arts Cork|url=http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/versailles-palace.htm|access-date=10 August 2016}}</ref> Covered by around {{convert|10|ha|e6sqft|abbr=off}} of roof, the palace has 2,143 windows, 1,252 chimneys, and 67 staircases.<ref>Ayers 2004, also includes 700 rooms. {{p.|333}}.</ref>

The palace and its grounds have had a great influence on architecture and horticulture from the mid-17th century to the end of the 18th century. Examples of works influenced by Versailles include [[Christopher Wren]]'s work at [[Hampton Court Palace]], [[Berlin Palace]], the [[Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso|Palace of La Granja]], [[Stockholm Palace]],{{sfn|UNESCO: Palace and Park of Versailles}} [[Ludwigsburg Palace]], [[Karlsruhe Palace]], [[Schloss Rastatt|Rastatt Palace]],{{sfn|Kaufmann|1995|pp=320–22}} [[Nymphenburg Palace]], [[Schleissheim Palace]],{{sfn|UNESCO: Palace and Park of Versailles}}{{sfn|Kaufmann|1995|pp=323–24}} and [[Schloss Esterházy|Esterházy Palace]].{{sfn|Kaufmann|1995|p=338}}

==Royal Apartments==
[[File:Versailles - Plan du premier étage de l'avant corps - Architecture Françoise Tome4 Livre7 Pl8 (apts colored).jpg|thumb|Plan of the main floor in the central part of the palace (c. 1742),<ref>{{harvnb|Blondel|1752–1756}}, vol. 4 (1756), book 7, plate 8; {{harvnb|Nolhac|1898}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=biMoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA49 p. 49] (dates Blondel's plan to c. 1742).</ref> showing the ''[[grand appartement du roi]]'' in dark blue, the ''[[appartement du roi]]'' in medium blue, the ''[[petit appartement du roi]]'' in light blue, the ''[[grand appartement de la reine]]'' in yellow, and the ''[[petit appartement de la reine]]'' in red]]

The construction in 1668–1671 of [[Louis Le Vau]]'s ''enveloppe'' around the outside of [[Louis XIII]]'s red brick and white stone château added state apartments for the king and the queen. The addition was known at the time as the ''château neuf'' (new château). The ''grands appartements'' (Grand Apartments, also referred to as the State Apartments{{sfn|Saule|Meyer|2000|p=18, 22}}<ref>Michelin Tyre 1989, p. 182.</ref>) include the ''[[grand appartement du roi]]'' and the ''[[grand appartement de la reine]]''. They occupied the main or principal floor of the ''château neuf'', with three rooms in each apartment facing the garden to the west and four facing the garden parterres to the north and south, respectively. The private apartments of the king (the ''[[appartement du roi]]'' and the ''[[petit appartement du roi]]'') and those of the queen (the ''[[petit appartement de la reine]]'') remained in the ''château vieux'' (old château). Le Vau's design for the state apartments closely followed Italian models of the day, including the placement of the apartments on the main floor (the ''[[piano nobile]]'', the next floor up from the ground level), a convention the architect borrowed from Italian palace design.<ref>{{harvnb|Berger|1985|p=24–25}}; {{harvnb|Ayers|2004|pg=335}}</ref>

The king's State Apartment consisted of an [[enfilade (architecture)|enfilade]] of seven rooms, each dedicated to one of the known [[Solar System|planets]] and their associated titular [[Roman deity]]. The queen's apartment formed a parallel enfilade with that of the ''grand appartement du roi''. After the addition of the [[Hall of Mirrors]] (1678–1684) the king's apartment was reduced to five rooms (until the reign of [[Louis XV]], when two more rooms were added) and the queen's to four.

The queen's apartments served as the residence of three queens of France – [[Maria Theresa of Spain]], wife of [[Louis XIV]], [[Maria Leszczyńska]], wife of Louis XV, and [[Marie Antoinette]], wife of [[Louis XVI]]. Additionally, Louis XIV's granddaughter-in-law, [[Princess Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy]], duchess of Burgundy, wife of [[Louis, Duke of Burgundy]], occupied these rooms from 1697 (the year of her marriage) to her death in 1712.<ref group=lower-alpha>Six kings were born in this room: [[Philip V of Spain]], Louis XV, Louis XVI, [[Louis XVII]], [[Louis XVIII]], and [[Charles X of France|Charles X]].</ref>

===Ambassador's Staircase===
[[File:Chateau de Versailles Model of the Escalier des Ambassadeurs 03.jpg|thumb|left|Model of the former Ambassador's Staircase]]

The {{ill|Ambassadors' Staircase|fr|Escalier des Ambassadeurs}} (''Escalier des Ambassadeurs'') was an [[imperial staircase]] built from 1674 to 1680 by [[François d'Orbay]]. Until Louis XV had it demolished in 1752 to create a courtyard for his private apartments,{{sfn|Berger|1985|p=32}} the staircase was the primary entrance into the Palace of Versailles and the royal apartments especially.{{sfn|Yerkes|2015|p=51}} It was entered from the [[cour d'honneur|courtyard]] via a [[Vestibule (architecture)|vestibule]] that, cramped and dark, contrasted greatly with the tall, open space of the staircase – famously lit naturally with a [[skylight]] – so as to overawe visitors.{{sfn|Berger|1985|pp=32–33}}{{sfn|Yerkes|2015|pp=67, 69}}

The staircase and walls of the room that contained it were clad in [[polychrome]] marble and [[gilded]] bronze,{{sfn|Versailles 3D: 1752}} with decor in the Ionic order.{{sfn|Yerkes|2015|p=72}} [[Charles Le Brun]] painted the walls and ceiling of the room according to a festive theme to celebrate Louis XIV's victory in the [[Franco-Dutch War]].{{sfn|Berger|1985|pp=32–36}} On the wall immediately above the staircase were ''[[trompe-l'œil]]'' paintings of people from the [[Four Parts of the World]] looking into the staircase over a balustrade, a motif repeated on the ceiling fresco.{{sfn|Yerkes|2015|pp=72–73}}{{sfn|Berger|1985|p=36}} There they were joined by allegorical figures for the twelve months of the year and various Classical Greek figures such as the [[Muses]].{{sfn|Berger|1985|pp=35–36}} A marble bust of Louis XIV, sculpted by [[Jean Warin]] in 1665–66,{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=7}} was placed in a [[Niche (architecture)|niche]] above the first landing of the staircase.{{sfn|Versailles 3D: 1752}}

===The State Apartments of the King===
<gallery mode="packed" heights="170">
File:Paolo Veronese - Le Repas chez Simon le Pharisien - Google Art Project.jpg|''Meal at the House of Simon the Pharisee'' by [[Paolo Veronese|Veronese]] in the [[Salon d'Hercule|Salon of Hercules]]
File:France-000333 - Abundance Salon (14825986264).jpg|Salon of Abundance
File:Salon de Vénus.jpg|Salon of Venus
File:Salon de Mercure, Versailles.jpg|Salon of Mercury
</gallery>

The construction of the Hall of Mirrors between 1678 and 1686 coincided with a major alteration to the State Apartments. They were originally intended as his residence, but the King transformed them into galleries for his finest paintings, and venues for his many receptions for courtiers. During the season from [[All-Saints Day]] in November until [[Easter]], these were usually held three times a week, from six to ten in the evening, with various entertainments.{{Sfn|Saule|2013|page=20}}

====The Salon of Hercules====
This was originally a chapel. It was rebuilt beginning in 1712 under the supervision of the [[First Architect to the King]], [[Robert de Cotte]], to showcase two paintings by [[Paolo Veronese]], ''Eleazar and Rebecca'' and ''Meal at the House of Simon the Pharisee'', which was a gift to Louis XIV from the [[Republic of Venice]] in 1664. The painting on the ceiling, ''The Apotheosis of Hercules'', by [[François Lemoyne]], was completed in 1736, and gave the room its name.{{Sfn|Saule |2013 |page=20}}{{sfn|Pérouse de Montclos|1991|pages=262–264}}

====The Salon of Abundance====
The Salon of Abundance was the antechamber to the Cabinet of Curios (now the Games Room), which displayed Louis XIV's collection of precious jewels and rare objects. Some of the objects in the collection are depicted in [[René-Antoine Houasse]]'s painting ''Abundance and Liberality'' (1683), located on the ceiling over the door opposite the windows.

====The Salon of Venus====
This salon was used for serving light meals during evening receptions. The principal feature in this room is [[Jean Warin]]'s life-size statue of Louis XIV in the costume of a Roman emperor. On the ceiling in a gilded oval frame is another painting by Houasse, ''Venus subjugating the Gods and Powers'' (1672–1681). ''[[Trompe-l'œil]]'' paintings and sculpture around the ceiling illustrate mythological themes.{{Sfn|Saule|2013|page=22}}

====The Salon of Mercury====
The Salon of Mercury was the original State Bedchamber when Louis XIV officially moved the court and government to the palace in 1682. The bed is a replica of the original commissioned by King [[Louis-Philippe]] in the 19th century when he turned the palace into a museum. The ceiling paintings by the Flemish artist [[Jean Baptiste de Champaigne]] depict the god [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]] in his chariot, drawn by a rooster, and [[Alexander the Great]] and [[Ptolemy]] surrounded by scholars and philosophers. The Automaton Clock was made for the King by the royal clockmaker Antoine Morand in 1706. When it chimes the hour, figures of Louis XIV and Fame descend from a cloud.{{Sfn|Saule|2013|page=25}}

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Chateau de Versailles, France (8132698654).jpg|Salon of Mars
File:Plafond-Salon d'Apollon-Versailles.jpg|Ceiling in the Salon of Apollo, depicting the Sun Chariot of [[Apollo]]
File:Château de Versailles, salon de Diane, buste de Louis XIV, Bernin (1665) 00.jpg|[[Bust of Louis XIV (Bernini)|Bust of Louis XIV by Bernini]] in the Salon of Diana
</gallery>

====The Salon of Mars====
The Salon of Mars was used by the royal guards until 1782, and was decorated on a military theme with helmets and trophies. It was turned into a concert room between 1684 and 1750, with galleries for musicians on either side. Portraits of [[Louis XV]] and his Queen, [[Marie Leszczyńska]], by the Flemish artist [[Carle Van Loo]] decorate the room today.

====The Salon of Apollo====
The Salon of Apollo was the royal throne room under Louis XIV, and was the setting for formal audiences. The eight-foot-high silver throne was melted down in 1689 to help pay the costs of an expensive war, and was replaced by a more modest throne of gilded wood. The central painting on the ceiling, by [[Charles de la Fosse]], depicts the Sun Chariot of [[Apollo]], the King's favourite emblem, pulled by four horses and surrounded by the four seasons.

====The Salon of Diana====
The Salon of Diana was used by Louis XIV as a billiards room, and had galleries from which courtiers could watch him play. The decoration of the walls and ceiling depicts scenes from the life of the goddess [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]]. The celebrated [[Bust of Louis XIV (Bernini)|bust of Louis XIV by Bernini]] made during the famous sculptor's visit to France in 1665 is on display here.{{Sfn|Saule|2013|page=23}}

===Private apartments of the King and Queen===
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Appartement du Roi (Versailles).jpg|King's bedchamber
File:Versailles Queen's Chamber.jpg|Queen's bedchamber
File:Cabinet dore Marie-Antoinette Versailles.jpg|Gilded cabinet of Marie Antoinette
File:Chateau Versailles cabinets interieurs de la Reine cabinet du Billard.jpg|Billiard Room of Marie Antoinette
</gallery>

====Private apartments of the King====
{{Main|Appartement du roi|Petit appartement du roi}}

The apartments of the King were the heart of the château; they were in the same location as the rooms of [[Louis XIII]], the creator of the château, on the first floor (second floor US style). They were set aside for the personal use of [[Louis XIV]] in 1683. He and his successors [[Louis XV]] and [[Louis XVI]] used these rooms for official functions, such as the ceremonial ''[[Levee (ceremony)|lever]]'' ("waking up") and the ''coucher'' ("going to bed") of the monarch, which was attended by a crowd of courtiers.

The King's apartment was accessed from the Hall of Mirrors from the ''Oeil de Boeuf'' antechamber or from the Guardroom and the ''Grand Couvert'', the ceremonial room where Louis XIV often took his evening meals, seated alone at a table in front of the fireplace. His spoon, fork, and knife were brought to him in a golden box. The courtiers could watch as he dined.{{Sfn|Saule|2013|page=32}}

The King's bedchamber had originally been a Drawing Room before Louis XIV transformed it into his own bedroom in 1701. He died there on 1 September 1715. Both Louis XV and Louis XVI continued to use the bedroom for their official awakening and going to bed. On 6 October 1789, from the balcony of this room Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, joined by the [[Marquis de Lafayette]], looked down on the [[Women's March on Versailles|hostile crowd]] in the courtyard, shortly before the King was forced to return to Paris.{{Sfn|Saule|2013|page=32}}

The bed of the King is placed beneath a carved relief by [[Nicolas Coustou]] entitled '' France watching over the sleeping King''. The decoration includes several paintings set into the panelling, including a self-portrait of [[Antony van Dyck]].{{Sfn|Saule|2013|page=32}}

====Private apartments of The Queen====
{{Main|Petit appartement de la reine}}

[[File:The queens bedchamber, Versailles Palace.jpg|thumb|The queens bedchamber, Versailles Palace]]
The ''petit appartement de la reine'' is a suite of rooms that were reserved for the personal use of the queen. Originally arranged for the use of the [[Maria Theresa of Spain]], consort of [[Louis XIV]], the rooms were later modified for use by [[Marie Leszczyńska]] and finally for [[Marie Antoinette]]. The Queen's apartments and the King's Apartments were laid out on the same design, each suite having seven rooms. Both suites had ceilings painted with scenes from mythology; the King's ceilings featured male figures, the Queen's featured females.

==Hall of Mirrors==
[[File:Chateau Versailles Galerie des Glaces.jpg|thumb|right|alt=The Hall of Mirrors|The [[Hall of Mirrors]]]]
{{Main article|Hall of Mirrors}}

The [[Hall of Mirrors]] is a [[long gallery]] at the westernmost part of the palace that looks out onto the gardens.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Hall of Mirrors}}{{sfn|Berger|1985|p=51}} The hall was built from 1678 to 1681 on the site of a terrace Le Vau built between the king and queen's suites.{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=115}}{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Hall of Mirrors}} The hall is clad in marble and decorated in a modified version of the [[Corinthian order]], with 578 mirrors facing 17 windows and reflecting the light provided by them. The ceiling fresco, painted by Le Brun over the next four years,{{sfn|Ayers|2004|p=337}} embellishes the first 18 years of Louis XIV's reign in 30 scenes,{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Hall of Mirrors}} 17 of which are military victories over the Dutch.{{sfn|Blanning|2002|p=38}} The fresco depicts Louis XIV himself alongside Classical figures in the scenes celebrating moments in his reign such as the beginning of personal rule in 1661,{{sfn|Berger|1985|pp=53–54}} breaking from earlier frescoes at Versailles that used allegories derived from Classical and mythological scenes.{{sfn|Ayers|2004|p=337}}{{Sfn|Jones|2018|p=40}}

The {{ill|Salon of War|fr|Salon de la Guerre}} and the {{ill|Salon of Peace|fr|Salon de la Paix}} bookend the Hall of Mirrors on its northern and southern ends respectively.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=iii}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|pp=38–39}} The Salon of War, constructed and decorated from 1678 to 1686, celebrates French victories in the Franco-Dutch War with marble panels, gilded bronze trophies of arms, and a stucco ''[[bas-relief]]'' of Louis XIV on horseback riding over his enemies. The Salon of Peace is decorated in the same fashion but according to its eponymous theme.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Hall of Mirrors}}

==Royal Chapel==
{{main|Chapels of Versailles}}
[[File:Versailles Chapel - July 2006 edit.jpg|thumb|right|alt=The interior of the Royal Chapel of Versailles|Interior of the [[Royal Chapel of Versailles|Royal Chapel]]]]

The Royal Chapel of Versailles is located at the southern end of the north wing.{{sfn|Ayers|2004|p=338}} The building stands {{convert|40|m|ft|adj=on}} high, and measures {{convert|42|m}} long and {{convert|24|m}} wide.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Royal Chapel}} The chapel is rectangular with a semicircular [[apse]],{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=128}} combining traditional, [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] royal French [[church architecture]] with the [[French Baroque architecture|French Baroque style]] of Versailles.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Royal Chapel}}{{sfn|Berger|1994|pp=128–35}} The ceiling of the chapel is constituted by an unbroken vault, divided into three frescos by [[Antoine Coypel]], [[Charles de La Fosse]], and [[Jean Jouvenet]].{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Royal Chapel}} The palette of motifs beneath the frescoes glorify the deeds of [[Louis IX]], and include images of [[David]], [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]], [[Charlemagne]], and Louis IX, ''[[fleur de lis]]'', and Louis XIV's [[monogram]].{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=134}} The organ of the chapel was built by [[Robert Clicquot]] and Julien Tribuot in 1709–1710.

Louis XIV commissioned the chapel, its sixth, from Hardouin-Mansart and Le Brun in 1683–84. It was the last building constructed at Versailles during Louis XIV's reign.{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=370}}{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Royal Chapel}}{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=128}} Construction was delayed until 1699, however,{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=370}}{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Royal Chapel}} and it was not completed until 1710.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Royal Chapel}} The only major modification to the chapel since its completion was the removal of a [[Lantern (architecture)|lantern]] from its roof in 1765. A full restoration of the chapel began in late 2017 and lasted into early 2021.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Revitalizing the Royal Chapel}}

==Royal Opera==
{{Main|Royal Opera of Versailles}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="170">
File:Royal Opera de Versailles, Paris, MA56.jpg|The Opera towards the Royal Box
File:Opéra du château de Versailles - foyer (2) - DSC 0921.jpg|Foyer of the Royal Opera
File:Opéra-vue de l'Opéra 1770.jpg|The Royal Opera during the celebration of the marriage of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette (1770)
File:Opera royal versailles 0004.jpg|Stage of the Royal Opera
File:Durameau Opéra Versailles II.jpg|Ceiling of the opera, painted by [[Louis Jean-Jacques Durameau]]
</gallery>

The Royal Opera of Versailles was originally commissioned by Louis XIV in 1682 and was to be built at the end of the North Wing with a design by Hardouin-Mansart and [[Carlo Vigarani]]. However, due to the expense of the King's continental wars, the project was put aside. The idea was revived by [[Louis XV]] with a new design by [[Ange-Jacques Gabriel]] in 1748, but this was also temporarily put aside. The project was revived and rushed ahead for the planned celebration of the marriage of the Dauphin, the future [[Louis XVI]], and [[Marie Antoinette]]. For economy and speed, the new opera was built almost entirely of wood, which also gave it very high quality acoustics. The wood was painted to resemble marble, and the ceiling was decorated with a painting of the Apollo, the god of the arts, preparing crowns for illustrious artists, by [[Louis Jean-Jacques Durameau]]. The sculptor [[Augustin Pajou]] added statuary and reliefs to complete the decoration. The new Opera was inaugurated on 16 May 1770, as part of the celebration of the royal wedding.{{Sfn|Saule|2013|page=60}}

In October 1789, early in the [[French Revolution]], the last banquet for the royal guardsmen was hosted by the King in the opera, before he departed for Paris. Following the [[Franco-German War]] in 1871 and then the [[Paris Commune]] until 1875, the French National Assembly met in the opera, until the proclamation of the [[French Third Republic]] and the return of the government to Paris.<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica">{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Palace-of-Versailles|title=Palace of Versailles {{!}} palace, Versailles, France|work=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=28 August 2017|language=en}}</ref>

=={{Anchor|Versailles Museum}}Museum of the History of France==
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{{main|Musée de l'Histoire de France (Versailles)}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
Heim, François-Joseph - Louis-Philippe Opening the Galerie des Batailles - 1837.jpg|Louis Philippe dedicates the ''[[Galerie des Batailles]]'', by [[François Joseph Heim]] (1837)
File:Versailles Château de Versailles Innen Galerie des Batailles 03.jpg|The Gallery of Battles in the [[Musée de l'Histoire de France (Versailles)|Museum of the History of France]]
File:The Battle of Taillebourg, 21st July 1242.png|''The Battle of Taillebourg'', by [[Eugène Delacroix]] (1837)
Louis-Philippe et ses fils 2.jpg|[[Louis Philippe]] and his sons pose before the gates of Versailles, by [[Horace Vernet]] History Gallery, (1846)
</gallery>

Shortly after becoming king in 1830, [[Louis Philippe I]] decided to transform the palace into a museum devoted to "All the Glories of France," with paintings and sculpture depicting famous French victories and heroes. Most of the apartments of the palace were entirely demolished (in the main building, practically all of the apartments were annihilated, with only the apartments of the king and queen remaining almost intact), and turned into a series of several large rooms and galleries: the Coronation Room (whose original volume was left untouched by Louis-Philippe), which displays the celebrated painting of the coronation of Napoleon I by [[Jacques-Louis David]]; the Hall of Battles; commemorating French victories with large-scale paintings; and the 1830 room, which celebrated Louis-Philippe's own coming to power in the [[French Revolution of 1830]]. Some paintings were brought from the Louvre, including works depicting events in French history by [[Philippe de Champaigne]], [[Pierre Mignard]], [[Laurent de La Hyre]], [[Charles Le Brun]], [[Adam Frans van der Meulen]], [[Nicolas de Largillière]], [[Hyacinthe Rigaud]], [[Jean-Antoine Houdon]], [[Jean-Marc Nattier]], [[Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun]], [[Hubert Robert]], [[Thomas Lawrence]], [[Jacques-Louis David]], and [[Antoine-Jean Gros]]. Others were commissioned especially for the museum by prominent artists of the early 19th century, including [[Eugène Delacroix]], who painted [[Louis IX of France|Saint Louis]] at the French victory over the British in the [[Battle of Taillebourg]] in 1242. Other painters featured include [[Horace Vernet]] and [[François Gérard]]. A monumental painting by Vernet features Louis Philippe himself, with his sons, posing in front of the gates of the palace.{{Sfn|Saule|2013|pages=18–19}}

The overthrow of Louis Philippe in 1848 put an end to his grand plans for the museum, but the Gallery of Battles is still as it was, and is passed through by many visitors to the royal apartments and grand salons. Another set of rooms on the first floor has been made into galleries on Louis XIV and his court, displaying furniture, paintings, and sculptures. In recent years, eleven rooms on the ground floor between the Chapel and the Opera have been turned into a history of the palace, with audiovisual displays and models.{{Sfn|Saule|2013|pages=18–19}}

==Estate of Versailles==
[[File:Plan général de Versailles, son parc, son Louvre, ses jardins, ses fontaines, ses bosquets et sa ville par N de Fer 1700 - Gallica 2012 (adjusted).jpg|thumb|The palace, park, and gardens of Versailles around 1700, mapped by [[Nicolas de Fer]] and engraved by Charles Inselin. North is to the right.|alt=A map of the grounds of the Palace of Versailles around 1700]]

The estate of Versailles consists of the palace, the [[Subsidiary structures of the Palace of Versailles|subsidiary buildings]] around it, and {{ill|Park of Versailles|fr|Parc de Versailles|lt=its park}} and [[Gardens of Versailles|gardens]]. As of June 2021, the estate altogether covers an area of {{convert|800|ha|km2+acre}},{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Estate}} with the park and gardens laid out to the south, west, and north of the palace.{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=29}} The palace is approached from the east by the [[Paris Avenue (Versailles)|Avenue de Paris]], measuring {{convert|17|mi|order=flip}} from Paris to a gate between the [[Grande Écurie|Grande]] and [[Petite Écurie|Petite Écuries]].{{sfn|Walton|1986|pp=13, 15}} Beyond these stables is the [[Place d'Armes (Versailles)|Place d'Armes]],{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=37}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=18}} where the Avenue de Paris meets the [[Avenue de Sceaux]] and [[Avenue de Saint-Cloud (Versailles)|Avenue de Saint-Cloud]] (see map), the three roads that formed the main arteries of the city of Versailles.{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=54}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=8}} Exactly where the three roads meet is a gate leading into the ''[[cour d'honneur]]'',{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=17}} hemmed in by the [[Ministers' Wings]].{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=37}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=18}} Beyond is the [[The Royal Gate of the Palace of Versailles|Royal Gate]] and the main palace,{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=18}} which wraps around the {{ill|Royal Courtyard (Versailles)|fr|Cour royale (Versailles)|lt=Royal}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=38}} and finally {{ill|Marble Court|fr|Cour de Marbe|lt=Marble Courts}}.{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=19}}

The estate was established by Louis XIII as a hunting retreat,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=2}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=44}} with a park just to the west of his château.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=3}} From 1661, Louis XIV expanded the estate until,{{sfn|Hoog|1996|pp=371–72}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|pp=19–20}} at its greatest extent, the estate was made up by the {{ill|Grand Parc|fr|Grand parc de chasse de Louis XIV}}, a hunting ground of {{convert|15,000|ha|km2+acre}},{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=44}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=29}} and the gardens, called the Petit Parc,{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=29}} which covered {{convert|1700|ha|km2+acre}}. A {{convert|25|mi|km|adj=mid|-long|order=flip}}, {{convert|10|ft|m|0|adj=mid|-high|order=flip}} wall with 24 gateways enclosed the estate.{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=44}}

The landscape of the estate had to be created from the bog that surrounded Louis XIII's château using landscape architecture usually employed in fortress building.{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=29}} The approach to the palace and the gardens were carefully laid out via the moving of earth and construction of terraces.{{Sfn|Walton|1986|p=55}}{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Gardens}} The water from the marsh was marshalled into a series of lakes and ponds around Versailles,{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=30}} but these reservoirs were not sufficient for the palace, city, or gardens. Great lengths were taken to supply Versailles with water, such as the damming of the river [[Bièvre (river)|Bièvre]] to create an [[Inflow (hydrology)|inflow]] in the 1660s, the construction of an [[Machine de Marly|enormous pumping station]] at the river [[Seine]] near [[Marly-le-Roi]] in 1681, and an attempt to divert water from the river [[Eure (river)|Eure]] with [[Canal de l'Eure|a canal]] in the later 1680s.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=16–17}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=30–31}}

===Gardens===
{{Main article|Gardens of Versailles}}
[[File:Gardens of Versailles, 22 June 2014 001.jpg|thumb|View of the gardens of Versailles, looking northwest from the palace|alt=Image of a portion of the gardens of Versailles seen from in front of the palace's garden façade]]

The gardens of Versailles, as they have existed since the reign of Louis XIV, are the work of [[André Le Nôtre]]. Le Nôtre's gardens were preceded by a simple garden laid out in the 1630s by landscape architects [[Jacques Boyceau]] and Jacques de Nemours,{{sfn|Hoog|1996|pp=369, 371–72}} which he rearranged along an east–west axis that,{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: André Le Nôtre}} because of Louis XIV's land purchases and the clearing of woodland,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=4}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=29}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=29}} were expanded literally as far as could be seen.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: André Le Nôtre}} The resulting gardens were a collaboration between Le Nôtre, Le Brun, Colbert, and Louis XIV,{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Gardens}} marked by rigid order, discipline,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=4}} and open space, with axial paths, [[flowerbeds]], [[hedge]]s, and ponds and lakes as motifs.{{sfn|UNESCO: Palace and Park of Versailles}} They became the epitome of the [[French formal garden]] style,{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=46}} and have been very influential and widely imitated or reproduced.{{sfn|UNESCO: Palace and Park of Versailles}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=29}}

===Subsidiary structures===
{{Main|Subsidiary structures of the Palace of Versailles}}
[[File:Château de Versailles (Orangerie).jpg|thumb|right|The [[Versailles Orangery]]]]

The first of the subsidiary structures of the Palace of Versailles was the {{ill|Versailles Menagerie|fr|Ménagerie royale de Versailles}},{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=33}}{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Ménagerie}} built by Le Vau between the years 1662 and 1664,{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Ménagerie}} at the southern end of the Grand Canal.{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=33}} The apartments, overlooking the pens,{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=54}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|pp=33, 55}} were renovated by Hardouin-Mansart from 1698 to 1700,{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Ménagerie}} but the Menagerie fell into disuse in 1712.{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=33}}{{efn|The animals of the Menagerie, abandoned after the Revolution, were moved to Paris and became the foundation of the menagerie of the [[Jardin des Plantes]], the second-oldest public zoo in the world.<ref>Deligeorges, Gady, Labalette, "Le Jardin des Plantes et le Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle" (2004), p. 58</ref>}} After a long period of decay, it was demolished in 1801.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Ménagerie}} The [[Versailles Orangery]], just to the south of the palace,{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Orangery}} was first built by Le Vau in 1663,{{sfn|Jones|2018|pp=23–24}} originally as part of the general moving of earth to create the Estate.{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=55}} It was also modified by Mansart, who, from 1681 to 1685, totally rebuilt it and doubled its size.{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=107}}

In late 1679,{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=143}} Louis XIV commissioned Mansart to build the [[Château de Marly]],{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=15}} a retreat at the edge of Versailles's estate, about {{convert|5|mi|order=flip}} from the palace.{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=51}} The château consisted of a primary residential building and twelve pavilions, in [[Palladian style]]{{sfn|Berger|1994|pp=143–44}} placed in two rows on either side of the main building.{{sfn|Base Mérimée: Domaine national de Marly}} Construction was completed in 1686,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=15}}{{sfn|Base Mérimée: Château royal de Marly}} when Louis XIV spent his first night there.{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=143}} The château was nationalized and sold in 1799,{{sfn|Base Mérimée: Domaine national de Marly}} and subsequently demolished and replaced with industrial buildings. These were themselves demolished in 1805,{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Estate of Marly}} and then in 1811 the estate was purchased by Napoleon.{{sfn|Base Mérimée: Domaine national de Marly}}{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Estate of Marly}} On 1 June 2009, the grounds of the Château de Marly were ceded to the Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Estate of Marly}}

[[La Lanterne (Versailles)|La Lanterne]], is a hunting lodge named after the lantern that topped the nearby Menagerie that was built in 1787 by [[Philippe Louis de Noailles]], then the palace governor. It has since 1960 been a state residence.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Ménagerie}}

===The Grand Trianon ===
{{Main article|Grand Trianon}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="170">
Le Grand Trianon vu d'avion le 26 août 2014 - 03.jpg|The [[Grand Trianon]] with courtyard and gardens. The wing at left is a residence of the [[President of France]].
File:Trianon1.jpg|The [[Grand Trianon]] 
File:The Grand Trianon Castle Interios.JPG|Interior of the [[Grand Trianon]] 
</gallery>

In 1668,{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=372}} Louis XIV purchased and demolished the hamlet of Trianon,{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=24}} near the northern tip of the Grand Canal,{{Sfn|Berger|1994|p=68}} and in its place, he commissioned Le Vau to construct a retreat from court,{{Sfn|Berger|1994|p=68}}{{sfn|Baghdiantz-MacCabe|2008|p=214}} remembered as the [[Trianon de Porcelaine|Porcelain Trianon]]. Designed and built by Le Vau in 1670,{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=372}}{{Sfn|Berger|1994|pp=26, 68}} it was the first example of ''[[Chinoiserie]]'' (faux Chinese) architecture in Europe, though it was largely designed in French style.{{sfn|Baghdiantz-MacCabe|2008|p=215}}{{Sfn|Berger|1994|pp=68, 118}} The roof was clad not with [[porcelain]] but with [[delftware]],{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=372}}{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=68}}{{sfn|Baghdiantz-MacCabe|2008|p=215}} and was thus prone to leaks,{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=118}} so in 1687 Louis XIV ordered it demolished.{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=372}} Nevertheless, the Porcelain Trianon was itself influential and copycats were built across Europe.{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=68}}{{sfn|Baghdiantz-MacCabe|2008|pp=216, 219}}

To replace the Porcelain Trianon,{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=118}} Louis XIV tasked Hardouin-Mansart with the construction in 1687 of the [[Grand Trianon]], built from marble in three months.{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=372}} The Grand Trianon has a single story, except for its attached service wing,{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Grand Trianon}}{{sfn|Berger|1994|pp=118–19}} which was modified by Hardouin-Mansart in 1705–06.{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=119}} The east façade has a courtyard while the west faces the gardens of the Grand Trianon, and between them a [[peristyle]].{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Grand Trianon}}{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=119}} The interiors are mostly original,{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Trianon}} and housed Louis XIV, the Madame de Maintenon, Marie Leszczyńska, and Napoleon, who ordered restorations to the building. Under [[Charles de Gaulle]], the north wing of the Grand Trianon became a residence of the President of France.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Grand Trianon}}

=== Petit Trianon ===
{{Main article|Petit Trianon}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="170">
File:Vue aérienne du domaine de Versailles par ToucanWings - Creative Commons By Sa 3.0 - 124.jpg|Aerial view of the Petit Trianon and its gardens
File:West facade of Petit Trianon 002.JPG|West façade of the [[Petit Trianon]]
File:Parc du Château de Versailles - Le Pavillon Français.jpg|The French Pavilion of the Petit Trianon
File:Chateau de Versailles - Belvedere 22-04-2005.jpg|The [[Belvédère (Petit Trianon)|Belvedere]] in the park of the Petit Trianon
</gallery>

The Petit Trianon, whose construction from 1762 to 1768{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=373}} led to the advent of the names "Grand" and "Petit Trianon",{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Petit Trianon}} was constructed for Louis XV and the Madame du Barry in the Neoclassical style by Gabriel.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Trianon}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=70}} The building has a ''[[piano nobile]]'', basement, and attic,{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=373}} with five windows on each floor.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Petit Trianon}} On becoming king, Louis XVI gave the Petit Trianon to Marie Antoinette, who remodeled it, relaid its gardens in the then-current [[English landscape garden|English]] and Oriental styles,{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Petit Trianon}}{{sfn|Hoog|1996|pp=373–74}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=76}} and formed her own court there.{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=76}}

===The Queen's hamlet and Theatre===
<gallery mode="packed" heights="170">
File:Théâtre de la Reine - salle et scène.jpg|The [[Théâtre de la Reine|Queen's Theatre]]
File:Marie Antoinette amusement at Versailles.JPG|The Queen's Hamlet
</gallery>

Near the Trianons are the French pavilion, built by Gabriel in 1750 between the two residences, and the [[Théâtre de la Reine|Queen's Theatre]] and [[Hameau de la Reine|Queen's Hamlet]], built by architect [[Richard Mique]] in 1780 and from 1783 to 1785 respectively. These were both built at the behest of Marie Antoinette;{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=374}} the theatre, hidden in the gardens, indulged her appreciation of opera and is absolutely original,{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Trianon}} and the hamlet to extend her gardens with rustic amenities.{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=374}}{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Queen's Hamlet}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|pp=76–79}} The building scheme of the Queen's Hamlet includes a farmhouse (the farm was to produce milk and eggs for the queen), a dairy, a dovecote, a boudoir, a barn that burned down during the French Revolution, a mill and a tower in the form of a lighthouse.

==Modern political and ceremonial functions==
{{See also|Treaty of Versailles (disambiguation)}}

The palace still serves political functions. Heads of state are regaled in the Hall of Mirrors; the bicameral [[French Parliament]]—consisting of the [[Senate (France)|Senate]] (''Sénat'') and the [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]] (''Assemblée nationale'')—meet in joint session (a [[congress of the French Parliament]]) in Versailles<ref name="Safran">William Safran, "France" in ''Politics in Europe'' (M. Donald Hancock et al., CQ Sage: 5th ed. 2012).</ref> to [[Constitutional amendments under the French Fifth Republic|revise or otherwise amend]] the [[Constitution of France|French Constitution]], a tradition that came into effect with the promulgation of the 1875 Constitution.{{#tag:ref|Article 9: ''Le siège du pouvoir exécutif et des deux chambres est à Versailles.''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/textes/constitution/c1875.htm|title=Constitution of 1875|access-date=2 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513175615/http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/textes/constitution/c1875.htm|archive-date=13 May 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>}} For example, the Parliament met in joint session at Versailles to pass constitutional amendments in June 1999 (for domestic applicability of [[International Criminal Court]] decisions and for gender equality in candidate lists), in January 2000 (ratifying the [[Treaty of Amsterdam]]), in March 2003 (specifying the "decentralized organization" of the French Republic),<ref name="Safran"/> and in March 2024 (to enshrine the freedom of women to have recourse to abortion).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Willsher |first=Kim |date=2024-03-04 |title=France makes abortion a constitutional right in historic Versailles vote |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/04/france-to-hold-final-vote-on-enshrining-abortion-as-a-constitutional-right |access-date=2024-11-02 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

In 2009, President [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] addressed the [[Great Recession]] before a congress in Versailles, the first time that this had been done since 1848, when [[Napoleon III|Louis Napoleon Bonaparte]] gave an address before the [[French Second Republic]].<ref>{{Cite news | agency=[[Associated Press]] | url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2009/06/22/breaking-tradition-sarkozy-speaks-to-parliament/ | title=Breaking tradition, Sarkozy speaks to parliament | date=22 June 2009}}</ref><ref>Jerry M. Rosenberg, "France" in The Concise Encyclopedia of The Great Recession 2007–2012 (Scarecrow Press: 2012), p. 262.</ref><ref>Associated Press, [https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/11/16/world/europe/ap-eu-france-paris-attacks-the-latest.html The Latest: US Basketball Player James Not Going to France] (16 November 2015).</ref> Following the [[November 2015 Paris attacks]], President [[François Hollande]] gave a speech before a rare [[joint session]] of parliament at the Palace of Versailles.<ref>Associated Press, [https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/11/16/world/europe/ap-eu-france-paris-attacks-the-latest.html The Latest: Brother Linked to Paris Attacks in Disbelief] (16 November 2015).</ref> This was the third time since 1848 that a French president addressed a joint session of the French Parliament at Versailles.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/11/16/francois-hollande-speech-parliament-france-war-isis.cnn Francois Hollande: 'France is at war'], CNN (16 November 2015).</ref> The [[List of Presidents of the National Assembly of France|president of the National Assembly]] has an [[Official residence|official apartment]] at the Palace of Versailles.<ref>Georges Bergougnous, ''Presiding Officers of National Parliamentary Assemblies: A World Comparative Study'' ([[Inter-Parliamentary Union]]: Geneva, 1997), p. 39.</ref> In 2023 a [[state visit by Charles III to France]] included a state banquet at the Palace.

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="220">
File:Peter Stehlik 2013.04.22 Panorama 1A.jpg|Panoramic view from the city
File:Versaillespanoraama2.jpg|Panoramic view from the park
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Bureau du Roi]]
* [[Fresh pavilion]]
* [[List of Baroque residences]]
* [[List of tourist attractions in Paris]]
* [[Louis XIV style]]
* [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919]]
* [[Potager du roi, Versailles]] (Kitchen Garden of the King)
* [[Tennis Court Oath]] ({{langx|fr|serment du jeu de paume}}) in the Saint-Louis district
* [[Versailles Cathedral]]
* [[Éléphante de Louis XIV]]

==Notes==
{{notelist|30em}}

==Citations==
{{reflist|20em}}

===References===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|last=Ayers|first=Andrew|title=The Architecture of Paris: An Architectural Guide|year=2004|publisher=Edition Axel Menges|isbn=9783930698967}}
* {{cite book|last=Baghdiantz-MacCabe|first=Ina|title=Orientalism in Early Modern France: Eurasian Trade, Exoticism, and the Ancien Régime|year=2008|publisher=[[Berg Publishers]]|isbn=9781847884633|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3MmvAwAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite book|last=Berger|first=Robert W.|title=Versailles: The Château of Louis XIV|year=1985|publisher=[[Penn State University Press]]|isbn=0-271-00412-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Berger|first=Robert W.|title=A Royal Passion: Louis XIV as Patron of Architecture|year=1994|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=0-521-44029-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Blanning|first=T. C. W.|author-link=T. C. W. Blanning|title=The Culture of Power and the Power of Culture: Old Regime Europe 1660–1789|year=2002|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-1982-2745-8|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198227458.001.0001|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i2N7DwAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite book |last= Blondel |first= Jacque-François |author-link=Jacques-François Blondel |title= Architecture françoise, ou Recueil des plans, élévations, coupes et profils des églises, maisons royales, palais, hôtels & édifices les plus considérables de Paris |volume= 4 vols. |location= Paris |publisher= Charles-Antoine Jombert |date= 1752–1756}}
* {{cite book|last=Bohanan|first=Donna|title=Crown and Nobility in Early Modern France|year=2001|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|series=European History in Perspective|isbn=978-0-333-71694-6}}
* {{cite journal|last=Bonney|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Bonney|title=Vindication of the Fronde? The cost of Louis XIV's Versailles building programme|journal=[[French History (journal)|French History]]|publisher=Oxford University Press|volume=21|issue=2|pages=205–22|date=June 2007|doi=10.1093/fh/crm004}}
* {{cite book|editor1-last=Doyle|editor-first=William|editor-link=William Doyle (historian)|title=Old Regime France|series=Short Oxford History of France|year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-873129-9}}
** {{cite book|last=Swann|first=Julian|author-link=Julian Swann|title=Old Regime France|chapter=The State and Political Culture|pages=139–68|ref=none}}
** {{cite book|last=Doyle|first=William|title=Old Regime France|chapter=Politics: Louis XIV|pages=169–94|ref=none}}
** {{cite book|last=Swann|first=Julian|title=Old Regime France|chapter=Politics: Louis XV|pages=195–222|ref={{sfnref|Swann|2001}}}}
* Garrigues, Dominique (2001). ''Jardins et jardiniers de Versailles au grand siècle''. Seyssel: Champ Vallon. {{ISBN|9782876733374}}.
* {{cite book |last= Hoog |first= Simone |chapter= Versailles |volume= 32 |pages=369–374 |editor-last=Turner |editor-first=Jane |title=[[The Dictionary of Art]] |publisher=Grove |location=New York |date=1996 |isbn= 9781884446009}} Also at [http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T089059 Oxford Art Online] (subscription required).
* {{cite book|last=Jones|first=Colin|title=Versailles|year=2018|publisher=[[Basic Books]]|isbn=978-1-5416-7338-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Kaufmann|first=Thomas DaCosta|title=Court, Cloister, and City: The Art and Culture of Central Europe, 1450–1800|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|year=1995|isbn=978-0-226-42729-4}}
* {{cite journal |last= Kemp |first= Gerard van der |title= Remeubler Versailles |journal= Revue du Louvre |volume= 3 |pages= 135–137 |year=1976}}
* {{cite book|last=Lacaille|first=Frédéric|title=Versailles – 400 ans d'histoire|location=Paris|publisher=Gallimard| date=2012|isbn=978-2-07-044430-4}}
* Michelin Tyre PLC (1989). ''Île-de-France: The Region Around Paris''. Harrow [England]: Michelin Tyre Public Ltd. Co. {{ISBN|9782060134116}}.
* {{cite book |last= Nolhac |first= Pierre de |author-link=Pierre de Nolhac |title= La création de Versailles sous Louis Quinze |location= Paris |publisher= H. Champion |year= 1898 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=biMoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PP9}}
* {{cite book |last= Pérouse de Montclos |first= Jean-Marie |title= Versailles |publisher= Abbeville Press |year= 1991 |isbn=9781558592285 }}
* {{cite book |last1= Saule |first1= Béatrix |last2=Meyer |first2=Daniel |title= Versailles Visitor's Guide |location= Versailles |publisher= Éditions Art-Lys |year= 2000 |isbn=9782854951172}}
* {{Cite book|last=Saule|first=Béatrix|title=Versailles|publisher=Editions ArtLys|year=2013}}
* {{cite book|last=Spawforth|first=Antony|title=Versailles: A Biography of a Palace|year=2008|publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]]|isbn=978-0-312-35785-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Walton|first=Guy|title=Louis XIV's Versailles|year=1986|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-2268-7254-4|url=https://archive.org/details/louisxivsversail0000walt}}
* {{cite journal|last=Yerkes|first=Carolyn|title=The Grand Escalier at the Château de Versailles: The Monumental Staircase and its Edges|journal=The Princeton University Library Chronicle|publisher=[[Princeton University Library]]|volume=76|number=1–2|date=Winter 2015|pages=51–83|doi=10.25290/prinunivlibrchro.76.1-2.0051|jstor=10.25290/prinunivlibrchro.76.1-2.0051}}
{{refend}}

===Web sources===
* {{cite web|title=Histoire de Versailles|url=https://www.versailles.fr/ma-ville/decouvrir/histoire-de-versailles/|publisher=City of Versailles|access-date=16 June 2021|language=fr|ref={{sfnref|City of Versailles: History}}|archive-date=15 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815082459/https://www.versailles.fr/ma-ville/decouvrir/histoire-de-versailles/|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite web|title=Palace and Park of Versailles|url=http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/83/|publisher=[[UNESCO]]|access-date=21 June 2021|ref={{sfnref|UNESCO: Palace and Park of Versailles}}}}

====French Ministry of Culture====
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite web|title=Château royal de Marly|url=https://www.pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/merimee/IA00050246|work=Base Mérimée|publisher=Ministry of Culture|access-date=26 August 2021|language=fr|ref={{sfnref|Base Mérimée: Château royal de Marly}}}}
* {{cite web|title=Domaine national de Marly|url=https://www.pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/merimee/PA00087524|work=Base Mérimée|publisher=Ministry of Culture|access-date=26 August 2021|language=fr|ref={{sfnref|Base Mérimée: Domaine national de Marly}}}}

<!--History-->
* {{cite web|title=The History|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=27 March 2016|publisher=[[Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles]]|access-date=1 June 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: History}}}}
* {{cite web|title=Versailles, "capital" of the kingdom, 1682|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/versailles-capital-kingdom-1682|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=22 November 2016|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=18 June 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Capital}}}}
* {{cite web|title=Reception of the Doge of Genoa, 1685|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/reception-doge-genoa-1685|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=22 November 2016|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=23 June 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Reception of the Doge of Genoa}}}}
* {{cite web|title=Reception of the Ambassador of Siam, 1686|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/reception-ambassador-siam-1686|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=22 November 2016|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=23 June 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Reception of the Ambassador of Siam}}}}
* {{cite web|title=Reception of the Ambassadors of Persia, 1715|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/reception-ambassadors-persia-1715|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=22 November 2016|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=23 June 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Reception of the Ambassadors of Persia}}}}
* {{cite web|title=Death of Louis XIV|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/death-louis-xiv-1715|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=23 November 2016|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=22 June 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Death of Louis XIV}}}}

<!--Biographies-->
* {{cite web|title=André Le Nôtre|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/great-characters/andre-notre|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=2 November 2016|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=8 July 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: André Le Nôtre}}}}
* {{cite web|title=Charles Le Brun|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/great-characters/charles-brun|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=2 November 2016|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=9 July 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Charles Le Brun}}}}

<!--Estate-->
* {{cite web|title=The Estate|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=2 September 2016|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=30 June 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Estate}}}}
* {{Cite web|title=The Royal Stables|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/royal-stables|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=17 October 2016|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=17 June 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Royal Stables}}}}
* {{cite web|title=The Estate of Trianon|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/estate-trianon|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=17 October 2016|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=7 August 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Trianon}}}}
* {{cite web|title=The Grand Trianon|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/estate-trianon/grand-trianon|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=23 November 2016|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=7 August 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Grand Trianon}}}}
* {{cite web|title=The Petit Trianon|url=http://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/estate-trianon/petit-trianon|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=23 November 2016|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=7 August 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Petit Trianon}}}}
* {{cite web|title=The Queen's Hamlet|url=http://en.chateauversailles.fr/long-read/queens-hamlet|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=26 April 2018|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=7 August 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Queen's Hamlet}}}}
* {{cite web|title=The estate of Marly|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/estate-marly|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=17 October 2016|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=26 August 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Estate of Marly}}}}

<!--Gardens-->
* {{cite web|title=The Gardens|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/gardens|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=17 October 2016|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=29 June 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Gardens}}}}
* {{cite web|title=The Orangery|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/gardens/orangery|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=8 December 2016|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=14 August 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Orangery}}}}

<!--Palace-->
* {{Cite web|title=The Grand Commun|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/palace/grand-commun|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=2 August 2019|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=18 June 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Grand Commun}}}}
* {{cite web|title=The Royal Chapel|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/news/life-estate/restoration-royal-chapel/royal-chapel|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=24 October 2018|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=5 September 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Royal Chapel}}}}
* {{cite web|title=The Royal Opera|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/palace/royal-opera|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=27 March 2016|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=25 June 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Royal Opera}}}}
* {{cite web|title=The Hall of Mirrors|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/palace/hall-mirrors|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=27 March 2016|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=17 July 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Hall of Mirrors}}}}

<!--News-->
* {{cite web|title=Revitalising the Royal Palace|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/news/life-estate/restoration-royal-chapel/revitalising-royal-chapel|website=en.chateauversailles.fr|date=24 October 2018|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=5 September 2021|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Revitalizing the Royal Chapel}}}}

<!--Miscellaneous-->
* {{Cite web|last=Saule|first=Béatrix|author-link=Béatrix Saule|title=Ménagerie|url=http://www.sculpturesversailles.fr/html/5b/plans/index-intro0303.htm|website=sculpturesversailles.fr|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=16 August 2021|language=fr|ref={{sfnref|Palace of Versailles: Ménagerie}}}}
* {{cite web|title=1752: La destruction de l'escalier des Ambassadeurs|url=http://www.versailles3d.com/fr/au-cours-des-siecles/xviiie/1752.html|work=Versailles 3D|publisher=Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles|access-date=19 November 2021|language=fr|ref={{sfnref|Versailles 3D: 1752}}}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
* Mansel, Philip. ''King of the World: The Life of Louis XIV'' (2020) chapters 8, 13.
* {{cite book |last= Maral |first= Alexandre |chapter= Chapelle royale |pages= 215–228 |editor-last=Gady |editor-first=Alexandre |title=Jules hardouin-Mansart 1646–1708 |publisher=Éditions de la Maison des sciences de l'homme |location=Paris |date=2010 |isbn= 9782735111879}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{wikivoyage|Versailles}}
* {{official website}}
* [https://www.theparisianguide.com/s/palace-of-versailles/ Palace of Versailles The Parisian Guide]
* [http://www.stockholm360.net/list.php?id=versailles Palace of Versailles's 360x180 degree panorama virtual tour]
* [http://rbsc.princeton.edu/versailles Versailles on Paper (exhibition website)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306091022/http://rbsc.princeton.edu/versailles/ |date=6 March 2016 }}
* [https://www.topworldimages.com/Palace_of_Versailles.htm Versailles Multimedia Gallery]
*[https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/palace-of-versailles?hl=en Virtual tour of the Palace of Versailles] provided by [[Google Arts & Culture]]

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[[Category:Palace of Versailles| ]]
[[Category:1684 establishments in France]]
[[Category:Art museums and galleries in France|Versailles, Palace of]]
[[Category:Baroque architecture at Versailles|Versailles]]
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