A Day of Discovery in Versailles, France

and its place in world history.

by Gem and Lita Anis

Avisit to the French capital city, Paris, known as the "City of Lights", the "City of Love", and the "Most Romantic City in the World", would not be complete without a trip to Versailles. Exploring Paris ordinarily involves the touristy experience of spending hours in the LOUVRE, the world's largest museum and the home to the original "Mona Lisa", or at the Gothic CATHEDRAL OF NOTRE-

DAME on the Seine River, or at the EIFFEL TOWER, the symbol of Paris soaring high above the city skyline, or at the CHAMPS-ELYSEES, the most famous thoroughfare with the ARC DE TRIOMPHE, or at "SACRE-COEUR, the Romanesque church standing at the top of the hill of MONTMARTRER, the historic artists' quarter, or at MOULINROUGE cabaret.

But Versailles is different especially because of the opulent Palace of Versailles

Situated just over three quarters of an hour away from the capital city, Versailles is located in the department of Yvelines, the region called "Ilede-France" about 20 kms. southwest of the city centre. Versailles with a population of 85,862 inhabitants is a wealthy suburb of Paris. We have a full day to explore the "Chateau de Versailles", its beautiful gardens and the Trianons (villas).

The Palace of Versailles, once a royal hunting lodge, is a former royal residence built by the French King Louis XIV. The baroque palace of 700 rooms is a stunning castle with its opulent architecture, sprawling grounds and gardens and lush forests.

It has been on UNESCO's World Heritage List since 1979 for its importance as the centre of power, art and science in France.

Visibly once inside the palace you'll see the most extraordinary astronomical clock once watched by the kings of France and adjusted to function until the year 9999!

We're so much amazed by the Hall of Mirrors, the most famous room in the palace. It pays tribute to the political, economic and artistic successes of France. It has seventeen (17) enormous mirrored arches facing 17 windows overlooking the parks, each arch containing 21 mirrors for a total of 357 mirrors. A perfect addition to the mirrored hall are several glass chandeliers hanging from a 40-foot height ceiling with brightly painted murals. During special occasions the hall was lit with 20,000 candles turning it into a 'Corridor of Lights". The dimly light was intended to protect the ornate walls and the ceilings from the candle smoke.

Suite of gilt-wood furniture, the Hall of Mirrors was used as a passage. Each day the courtiers would wait here for the King and the Royal family on their way to mass in procession. It was also the setting for receptions held for foreign dignitaries like ambassadors or for state audiences. Balls were given here in honour of royal marriages.

The Hall of Mirrors is also internationally famous for being the site where several important world events had taken place particularly the signing of the Treaty of Versailles,

28 June 1919. which put an end to the First Wolrd War (World War I between Germany and the Allied Powers. Four representatives of the allied powers were at the table in the Hall of Mirrors - George Clemenceau for France, Woodrow Wilson for the United States, David Llyod George for Great Britain, and Vittorio Orlando for Italy. The German delegation was composed of Herman Muller, Foreign Affairs Minister and Doctor Bell, a jurist.

Worth seeing are the two villas, known as trianons in the palace grounds - the Grand Trianon where the king would go to escape the court of Versailles and the petit trianon where Marie Antoinette, last queen of France before the French Revolution of 1789, once resided.

Situated to the west of the palace, the gardens, now one of the most visited public sites in France, cover some 800 hectares of land, landscaped in the classic French formal garden style. In addition to the manicured lawns and sculptures are the fountains located throughout the gardens.

The gem at the heart of the gardens of Versailles is the famous Latona's fountain. It illustrates the story of goddess Latona, mother of the sun and moon gods. with her statue on the top tier of the fountain featured with frog and lizard characters. The Latona fountain has been cited as inspiration for the Buckingham fountain in the city of Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

At the end of the tour we whetted our taste buds with chilled but churned coffee-flavoured sorbet at the "Le Dauphin" in the middle of the gardens. Then back to Paris.