Chateau de Versailles of France

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Chateau de Versailles

Tired of Paris, the 'Sun King' Louis XIV, who enjoyed likening himself to Apollo, God of the arts, peace and the sun, commissioned architects Louis le Vau and Jules Hardouin to build the château of Versailles in 1668, on the site of his father's small hunting lodge. It became the largest palace in Europe, accommodating up to 20,000 courtiers at a time. Charles Le Brun, the painter, designed the interior, whose highlights include the
Royal Apartments and the Hall of Mirrors. The Grand Trianon (1687) and the Petit Trianon (1762) are also in the park. The former, built in stone and marble, housed Louis XIV's mistress, while the latter, a small manor house, was home to Louis XV's mistress.

Chateau de Versailles

The Château de Versailles, the royal palace of Versailles, near Paris. This is one of the main attractions in France and is a World Heritage site(Classified World Heritage by on UNESCO since 1979). The Chateau de Versailles castle is also one of the largest palaces in the world. The palace was built in the 17th century.

Chateau de Versailles

It is today one of the most visited French tourist attractions with more than 2,5 million tourists visiting the castle every year. Since 1995, Versailles has been administered by a public institute (Etablissement Public du Musée et du Domaine National de Versailles) with around 800 people enployed.