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Home , Chateau, Galerie des Batailles, Grand Trianon, Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles, Paris

Cover: The Peace vase and the ’s restored west frontage © , Christian Milet

Établissement public Disabled access Access Coming soon: Greater Versailles... To improve visitor reception facilities and Vehicles may drop disabled du musée et du domaine SNCF trains ensure heritage conservation, the Établis- national de Versailles visitors off near Entrance H, sement Public de Versailles has begun a Versailles-Chantiers station major restoration campaign for the RP 834 at the Gabriel Pavilion and (from ) Palace and Gardens. We ask visitors to 78008 Versailles Cedex at the reception pavilion please excuse any inconveniences this Versailles- station (wooden building), in the work may cause. This estate and (from Paris Saint-Lazare) surrounding park Main Courtyard of the Palace. To help safeguard our heritage, we Save time: ask visitors to put their litter in the bins and gardens RER trains provided and not to touch any vases or have been awarded Print off your ticket Fully accessible:King’s and World Heritage status. Versailles- station statues, walk on the lawns or picnic. at home! Queen’s State Apartments Animals must be kept on leads and are Such status enshrines (Line C from Paris) prohibited in Marie-Antoinette’s Estate. the exceptional Book your visit at (Entrance H of the Palace), universal cultural www.chateauversailles.fr . Bus 171 Cameras installed in the Palace and in value of the site, Versailles Place d’Armes bus the gardens send real-time images to the so that it may be Partially accessible: EPV’s website so you can “visit” Versailles protected for the stop (from Pont de Sèvres) online. benefit of mankind. Informations and reservations Park,gardens and

CCTV monitoring is also in operation 0 9 01 30 83 78 00 Marie-Antoinette’s Estate. Car and coach parks throughout the site. Friends of Versailles Society Information: 01 30 83 78 00

Place d’Armes, Allée de Bailly P o l y m a g

[email protected] : telephone: 01 30 83 75 48 (Park), Grand Trianon, Petit fax: 01 30 83 75 19 Access to the Park through Trianon and Queen’s Hamlet. the Queen’s ( C o n c e p t i Shows 01 30 83 78 89 de la Reine) is for vehicles transporting disabled visitors (on production ofproof).

Guide 2009-2010

The restored Marble Courtyard © Palace of Versailles, Christian Milet

Lift for people with limited mobility Exit

Royal Courtyard    Access to the Gardens  i Tickets

Access ramp for people with limited mobility 

Tickets i Tickets and information Audioguide Free toilets for individual visitors 4 possibilities available: Entrance Palace Princes Courtyard Individuals with tickets ticket machines Palace  (disabled access), Palace or Passes With audioguide in 8 languages School group cloakroom Entrance A, Grand Trianon, Access to all visit circuits Little , Flottille, Dauphin’s This ticket allows you to visit* Bookshops (entrance A) :  Groups with reservations Grove and Girandole Grove for non-guided visits State Apartments (disabled access). Disabled access Picnic area Hall of , King’s Chamber...  Please help us to protect this prestigious to all visit circuits Chapel and 17th-century heritage you should refrain from touching the , gilded wall-panelling, curtains and galleries Equiped for «Grand Café d’Orléans» disabled visitors 01 39 50 29 79 . Dauphin’s Apartments, «La Flottille» 01 39 51 41 58 Checkroom the heir to the throne  Parking spaces reserved for People with limited mobility «Petite Venise» 01 39 53 25 69 The following items must obligatorily be left in the checkroom: walking sticks, umbrellas, Mesdames’ Apartments, not accompanied by a carer Mini-train pointed, sharp and blunt implements, suit- Louis XV’s daughters Checkroom Telephone: 01 39 54 22 00 cases, briefcases, rucksacks, shopping bags at week-ends only, in high season and other items of luggage, pushchairs, * except for temporary closures Telephone Fax: 01 39 55 07 25 prams, scooters, helmets, camera tripods, Electric cars reproductions, casts. Pass Baby-changing tables Information: 01 39 66 97 66 with audioguide in 8 languages Bicycles not allowed In everyone’s interest, appropriate dress is obligatory. Guided Dogs must be kept on leads with a national lecturer The use of flash bulbs and mobile tele- phones is not allowed inside the buildings. Marie-Antoinette’s Estate

You are about to visit the Palace and The royal family and the court were forced which count among to leave Versailles on October 6th 1789, after the most prestigious of the the first days of the . world’s artistic heritage and are certainly the In 1837, King Louis-Philippe inaugurated finest and most complete achievement of the Museum in the Palace, devoted to glori- French . ous events in the history of .

King Louis XIII’s former lodge was The various tickets on sale allow you to plan your day so as © RMN, Thierry Ollivier transformed and enlarged by his son Louis to discover all the splendours of Versailles. Starting from the XIV, who installed his court and govern- Royal Courtyard, explore all of the Palace’s visit circuits freely then cross the Gardens and Groves to the Grand The Palace is open every day ment here. Trianon and Marie-Antoinette’s Estate. except Mondays, on certain French The Palace was embellished with new public holidays, or when official apartments in the 18th century, during the ceremonies are held. reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI. high season 9am to 6.30pm last admission: 6pm low season 9am to 5.30pm last admission: 5pm 1 l The Palace of Versailles 2 l Trianon and Marie-Antoinette’s Estate

Restoring Marie-Antoinette’s Estate is part Now you can rediscover the Trianon Palaces and Marie- of the Greater Versailles project to restore estate restored to its unity as a reserved, pro- Antoinette’s Estate are open every Versailles’s historic contrasts between tected place expressing Marie-Antoinette’s day, except Mondays and some and classical, austerity and extrav- eclecticism and refinement plus an art of liv- French public holidays and during official ceremonies. agance, masculine inspiration (Louis XIV) ing linked with freedom of thought inspired and feminine inspiration (Marie-Antoinette by Enlightenment theories. high season, 12noon to 6.30pm tickets sold until 5.50pm following ). last admissions to the Grand Trianon The Petit Trianon and its park are insepa- and Petit Trianon: 6pm rably linked with the memory of Marie- (the gardens must be vacated Antoinette, the only queen to impose her from 7pmand are closed at 7.30pm) Access: Petit Trianon, Chapel, French own personal tastes at Versailles, scorning Pavilion, Queen’s Theatre, Belvedere, the old court and its traditions. In the of Love, , Landscaped Trianon estate that Louis XVI gave her in Garden, Refreshments Dairy, Queen’s 1774, she found a private haven where she Montres SA, Major Patron of the Ministry for Culture and Hamlet and Farm, Grand Trianon. Communication, has made it possible to undertake an important could disregard court Etiquette. programme of restoration on the Petit Trianon and French Pavilion. low season, 12noon to 5.30pm tickets sold until 4.50pm last admissions: 5pm Access: Petit Trianon, gardens and Grand Trianon.

Created by the architect J. Hardouin- After the Revolution and the advent of the Mansart in 1687, at the request of Louis First Empire, it became one of ’s XIV, the Grand Trianon “in marble and favourite residences, and it was also restored , with its delightful gardens” was a during the 1960s for General De Gaulle. place of relaxation for the king and the royal family, anxious to escape from the stiff eti- quette of the court of Versailles. The Grand Trianon © Jean-Baptiste Leroux

3 l Pass Palace ticket Palace-exhibition ticket with audioguide in 10 languages with audioguide in 10 languages 18 years and older: Û15 sold on-site until 3pm age 18 and over*: Û13.50 reduced rate: Û11.50 high season reduced rate: Û10 age 18 and over: school students, Imagine R cardholders, Audioguide supplement Û20 on weekdays disabled, under 18s*: free For visitors with free admission who wish to Û25 Thuesday from 12 May to 29 September; *From 1 April 2009 have an audioguide or access to the Grand at weekends and on public holidays, including citizens under age 26: Musical Display there is an audioguide access to the Grandes Eaux Musicales free access to permanent collections. supplement to pay: low season weekdays: Û6 (Û7 during exhibitions); age 18 and over: Û16 Access all year round, excepting temporary clo- Thuesday from 12 May to 29 June, sures, Access all year round, excepting temporary closu- to the King’s and Queen’s State Apartments, high-season weekends and public holidays: res, to the King’s and Queen’s State Apartments, the Chapel and 17th-century galleries, the History Û10 (Û11 during exhibitions) including access the Chapel and 17th-century galleries, the galleries, the Dauphin’s Apartments; to the Grand Musical Fountain Display. (at weekends only, of France Galleries, the Dauphin’s Apartments, the Mesdames’ Apartments in high season) the Petit Trianon and the Grand Trianon; in high . season, the Mesdames’Apartments (at weekends only), Marie-Antoinette’s Estate, the Grandes Eaux Musicales.

Trianon Palaces and high season, Petit Trianon, Grand Trianon, Marie-Antoinette’s Estate ticket Chapel, Queen’s Hamlet, Queen’s Theatre, (liable to change) Belvedere, Temple of Love, Grotto, Landscaped high season Garden, Refreshments Dairy, French Pavilion, age 18 and over*: Û10 (Û6 from 4pm) Farm; low season, Petit Trianon, Grand Trianon school students, Imagine R cardholders, and access to the Petit Trianon gardens. disabled, under 18s*: free low season age 18 and over*: Û6 school students, Imagine R cardholders, All these tickets can be disabled, under 18s*: free purchased all year round *From 1 April 2009 at www.chateauversailles.fr, European Union citizens under age 26: at , at RMN ticket offices, free access to permanent collections. and on-site on the day. annual season ticket (1 year from date of issue): Û30

5 l Non-guided tours for individuals 6 l Guided tours for individuals

The talking museum... Guided tours Fees the history of France in sound and pictures by guides from the national Including headphones With support from the (in French or English) Under age 18 département council, the Palace of Louis XV and Louis XVI’s private apartments; Disabled visitors Versailles has opened the collections Splendours of Versailles; etc e5,50 of the Museum of the History of France On arrival at the Palace, please consult the day’s programme at the information and ticket point i in the Age 18 and over devoted to the Napoleonic period. main courtyard (09:00-15:15, as places are available). e14,50 Seldom seen before by the public, excluding access to areas outside Thematic tours these galleries are now equipped with visit circuits Thematic tours are given in French by guides from e a special audiovisual system. the national museums, and occasionally by curators 7,50 + a choice of Palace Ticket, and craft specialists. Marie-Antoinette’s Estate Ticket or Pass Tours concerning court life, furniture, (giving access to areas outside visit circuits) decoration, music and modern Versailles Information and reservations are available on various days of the week. on +33 (0)1 30 83 78 00 Booking required. Tickets may be sold on the day, www.chateauversailles.fr if places are available, at the information and ticket point i in the Palace main courtyard.

First Consul Bonaparte crossing the Saint Bernard Pass on 20 May 1800. Jacques Louis David © RMN, Gérard Blot

For the disabled Touch tours for the visually impaired. Guided tours in French Sign Language or Discovery of the Talking Museum, a sound designed for lip-reading, specialist support and picture presentation in the Museum of (FSL visual guides, subtitled in French for the History of France, in partnership with the tour of the King and Queen’s Grand the Yvelines département council, for the Apartments; audioguides compatible with mobility-impaired and others. induction-loop and behind-the-ear aids) for Booking compulsory for guided tours, the deaf and hearing impaired. and information from the special visitors’ office Tel: +33 (0)1 30 83 75 05, Fax: +33 (0)1 30 83 77 90 [email protected]

7 l Activities for disabled visitors 8 l Guided tours for groups

Tours by national museum lecturers, maximum Tours for adults Full price 25 people. On request: access to all parts of the Palace open e303* to the public (subject to lecturer availability). excluding access to areas outside Tours for the disabled Information and reservations visit circuits Lecturers give special guided tours for visi- on 01 30 83 78 00 e365* [email protected] including visits of the King’s and tors with limited mobility or who are visually Queen’s State Apartments handicapped, hearing impaired or mentally Tours for young people disabled. Special rate All year round you can reserve places on guided Members of the Société Information on 01 30 83 75 05 des Amis de Versailles [email protected] tours or visits workshop. Information and reservations e165* on 01 30 83 78 00 *includes e 50,30 reservation fee. [email protected] Reduced rate School groups, students, disabled visitors e75

Rates include loan of headphones (school groups excluded). It is advisable to leave bags in coaches; otherwise allow 20min to check them in before the start of the tour. Picnicking is permitted around the Lake.

The Nations of America. © RMN

Non-guided visits Groups up to 10 persons Under French law, only certain persons are Groups alone or accompanied by their own e25 authorised to address the public in museums. Authorisation is subject to agreement by prior licensed guide. + Palace Ticket e8, reduced rate e6 reservation and is granted to: members of the or Palace-exhibition ticket e9.50, reduced rate e7.50 King’s and Queen’s State Apartments (Hall teaching professions addressing their pupils of Mirrors, King’s Chamber, Bull’s Eye , Groups from 11 to 30 persons or students, national museum lecturers, guide- Council Room). e50 interpreters and museum curators. + Palace Ticket e8, reduced rate e6 or Palace-exhibition ticket e9.50, reduced rate e7.50

Schoolchildren and under-18s handling charge: e25 in high season free in low season Surcharge for lateness: + 50% on applicable rate.

Information and reservations on 01 30 83 78 00

Bull’s Eye Salon © Jean-Marc Manaï King’s Chamber © Ch. Milet

9 l Non-guided tours for groups South © Jean-Claude N’Diaye

Laid out between 1661 and 1700 by Le Nôtre, The gardens are open every day Access Princes Courtyard (Palace), who levelled and drained the land and except in weather or when being used for official ceremonies. Little Venice, Ménagerie (lower part designed perspectives, groves, the canal and of the gardens, near the Grand Canal), From 8am to sunset Fountain, Dragon Gate. (6pm to 8.30pm depending on month). , Versailles is the of formal The Neptune Fountain remains freely acces- On Grandes Eaux Musicales days the sible via the Neptune Gate and the Dragon gardens “à la française”. Gardens open at 8.30am. Gate. It is also still possible to cross the It is adorned with more than 400 statues in gardens quite freely, through both of marble, bronze or lead, and with -- the Fountain in order to make a com- plete tour of the Grand Canal. The paved ing . The ancient myth of the Sun walk along the northern wing facing the gar- God,Apollo, is always very much in evidence. dens remains open to enable free access to the park and to the Trianon Palaces via the Beyond the gardens (90 hectares) is the Park, Neptune Fountain. ideal for ramblers. Warning: the days of Grand Musical Fountain Display, visitors who do not have “Grand Musical Fountain” Pass must go to the Marie-Antoinette’s Estate through the (Queen’s Gate, Boulevard de la Reine).

11 l The Gardens Air (The Four Elements. Charles Le Brun ©RMN Grand Canal © Jean-Baptiste Leroux

Prior to the Revolution, the royal domain In 1783, Marie-Antoinette had a dozen lit- The Park is open every day from 7am in summer and 8am in winter, of Versailles was encircled by a wall some tle dwellings erected–commonly called “fab- until sunset (6pm to 8.30pm depending 43 km in circumference and covered an riques”,in this instance meaning frameworks on season). area of over 8,000 hectares. or edifices–the rustic character of which Road traffic Queen’s Gate and Saint Anthony Gate The Park corresponds to the old limits of was emphasized by thatched roofs and the high season the former Gardens of Versailles, and to arrangement of the dwellings in the style of 7am to 7pm this day, its forest glades are still criss- a village. However, these were genuine places low season crossed by bridle paths and gallops. This of work, supplying foodstuffs to the palace 8am to 6pm area represented a transition towards the kitchens. The main building housed a games surrounding countryside which was the room, a billiard hall and, on the first storey, preserve of the royal domain for hunting a small apartment with a balcony from which with hounds. the Queen could survey the work in the fields. The other little cottages in the Queen’s Hamlet are the calefactory, the water-mill, dairies, dovecot, the Marlborough Tower and gamekeeper’s cottage. 13 l The Park Louis XIV by © Palace of Versailles, Jean-Marc Manaï

Court Pomp War let loose Louis XIV, man and King The exhibition recalls the excep- and Royal Ceremony Palace of Versailles, tional quality of Louis XIV’s Court Dress in 1650-1800 4 May to 7 September 2009 October 2009 to February 2010 artists: Charles Le Brun and Pierre Salles d’Afrique War Let Loose is one of a cycle of With some of the finest pieces 31 March to 28 June 2009 Magnaud in , Louis Le exhibitions of contemporary pho- from the royal collections, jewels, Vau and Jules Hardouin-Mansart The courts of Europe developed a tographs on various topics, inclu- cameos, medallions, , form of symbolic political lan- in , André Le Nôtre ding war. The display is held in the sculptures, miniatures and objets in garden design, and Jean- guage in dress. A shared typology Louis XIV, Galerie des Batailles. The juxta- d’art, the exhibition Baptiste Lully in music. of costumes gradually emerged man and King position of images of reality and raises the issue of Nearly 300 exhibits. after the Middle Ages. It reached great paintings of battle scenes the King’s image and taste. Louis Information and reservations its high point in France during the forces to re-examine the XIV was bound as king to be +33 (0)1 30 83 78 00 reign of Louis XIV. force and status of the image. at once a warrior, heading his The French court’s influence, Some 35 exhibits. troops, a patron, protecting the shown by the many orders placed , and a collector. in Paris, was felt from the end of He was competing with other the 17th century to the fall of the kings in Europe: Charles I of monarchy. England and Philip IV of , Nearly 200 exhibits. who were real connoisseurs.

15 l Exhibitions 16 l Shows

Events at the with the Hall of Mirrors bathed in of Equestrian Arts Versailles Baroque Palace of Versailles the splendour of the setting sun: fit Morning Dressage Sessions Music Centre Versailles Grand Fountain Displays for a Sun King. Musical Review Musical Thursdays Grand Musical Fountain Display Evenings at the Neptune Fountain Days and times of opening, admission: in the Royal Chapel please contact us 6 November to 4 June (except school 4 April to 25 October, Saturday, Sunday, Snow White public holidays (except May 1st); Discover the Academy of Equestrian holidays) 15:00 and 15:30: student organ 30 June, 1 July 2009, 21:00 12 May to 23 June, Tuesday Arts, an advanced school for recitals for visitors to the Palace 9:00-17:30 Roberto Alagna with equestrian and performing arts. 17:30: solo organ recital and student a century of French See the Academy’s horses and choir recital (approx 1h15mn) Musical Gardens 6, 13, 20 and 27 November; Thursday 9 July 2009, 21:00 students (écuyers ) at work and 30 June to 29 September, Tuesday 4, 11 and 18 December; 8, 15, 22 and 9:00-17:30 admire the Grand Stables of Christophe and guests the Palace of Versailles, built by 29 January; 5 and 12 February; Grand Evening Fountain Display 15 July 2009, 21:00 5, 12, 19 and 26 March; 2, 9 and 30 April; Jules Hardouin-Mansart, among 7, 14 and 28 May; 4 June 20 and 27 June; 4, 11, 18 and 25 July; Groupe F : Cyrano de Bergerac the finest in the world. 1, 8, 15 and 22 August, 21:00-23:30 The Clicquot Grand Organ, built in and the Empires of the Moon Information and reservations: Booking advised 1711, refashioned several times in the 29 August; 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12 Tel: +33 (0)1 39 02 07 14 Fax: +33 (0)1 39 02 07 96 and restored by Cattiaux The King’s tour September, 21:00 [email protected] and Boisseau in 1995. It will be played 20 and 27 June; 4, 11,18, 25 July; Firework display - first performance www.acadequestre.fr 1, 8, 15, 22 August 2009, 18:30-21:00 by students of Michel Bouvard and Begin your evening by discovering Informations and reservations: ’s organ class at the Paris +33 (0)1 30 83 78 89 Conservatory (CNSMDP). the Royal Apartments and the Hall www.chateauversailles-spectacles.fr of Mirrors as the day draws to a Information and reservations: close. An exceptional guided tour, +33 (0)1 39 20 78 10 or www.cmbv.fr

The King’s Kitchen Garden The Arboretum of Chèvreloup 10, rue du Maréchal Joffre 30, route de Versailles 78000 Versailles 78150 For individuals For individuals from November to March, 1 April to 15 November Mondays to Fridays 10am to 6pm, Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays all tickets: e3 and French public holidays from under age 6: free of charge 10am to 5pm from April to October (inclusive) For groups The King’s Kitchen Garden © Jean-Baptiste Leroux daily 10am to 6pm By appointment all year round weekends and public holidays: except on Wednesdays, Sundays e6.50 (guided tours) and during school holidays weekdays: e4.50 (non-guided visits) Booking required. students and under age 18: e3; Informations and reservations under age 6: free of charge on 01 39 55 53 80 For groups Fax on 01 39 54 74 97 all year round, on reservation. full price: e130 school groups: e72 (e30 supplement for tours in foreign languages) 17 Discovering Informations and reservations l on 01 39 24 62 62 or by fax: 01 39 24 63 38