Day Three

Spend day three either exploring Louis XIV’s mammoth Versailles, or if you feel like escaping town, hit the road and make your way to the Loire Valley to tour some of the royal castles.

 

Louis XIV’s monument to wealth and excess, Chateau de Versailles is one of France’s most popular tourist attractions. It is located about 10 miles from the center of Paris, and was built out of Louie’s desire to flaunt his vast power to the rest of the world. Construction began in 1661 and involved over 45,000 workers, many of whom died during the building process. There are six Grands Appartements done in the Louis XIV style, and each is named after the allegorical paintings on the ceilings. The largest and most prominent is the Hercules Salon, with a ceiling depicting the Apotheosis of Hercules. After his death, Louis XIV’s body was put on display in the Mercury Salon.

The castle’s most famous room is the Hall of Mirrors. Begun in 1678 in the Louis XIV style, it was decorated by Le Brun with 17 arched windows faced by beveled mirrors. On June 28, 1919, the treaty ending World War I was signed in the corridor.

 

Versailles boasts a luxurious Library, with intricately carved panels. The Clock Room contains a gilded, bronze-encased astronomical clock. Mozart played for Louie’s court in this room when he was only seven years old. Louis XVI married Marie Antoinette in the Royal Chapel in 1770. Covering some 250 acres, the Gardens of Versailles were laid out by landscape artist André Le Nôtre. There were 1,400 running fountains at one point.

 

If you choose to forgo Versailles in favor of hitting the open road, rent a car and make your way to the beautiful Loire Valley. When the Black Plague took over Paris in the 1300s, the royals and nobles escaped the city and built castles in this lush area. As a result, there are some 300 amazing castles in the area today. Many of them operate as hotels and bed-and-breakfasts, and you might choose to stay the night in one of them and experience life like the royals for yourself. Toursis the main city in the area, and it is a good place to anchor if you want to do some sightseeing.

 

A few of the most interesting castles include the Chateau d’Azay-le-Rideau, which was commissioned by Francois I’s finance minister, and Chateau d’Amboise, the first castle in France to reflect the Italian Renaissance style. Chateau de Chenonceau in the village of Chenonceaux was once home to Henry II’s mistress, Diane de Poiters, a fact that naturally angered his wife, Catherine de Medici. The powerful Catherine forced her out when Henry died.

 

Also in the village of Amboise is Clos-Luce, a 15^th century manor containing a museum dedicated Leonardo da Vinci. Da Vinci actually lived in the manor for three years, dying there in 1519.