CASTLES OF THE WORLD

VERSAILLES, France

The Chateau

The Chateau proposes two itineraries; either a guided tour or not. Apart from the state apartments of the king and queen and the Galerie des Glaces (the Hall of Mirrors, where the Treaty of Versailles was signed to end World War 1), which you can visit on your own, most of the palace can only be viewed in guided groups, and whose times are much more restricted. Long queues are common.
Unfortunately, only a small part of the palace can be visited : the State Apartments of the King and Queen, and the Hall of Mirrors. The worst time to visit the Chateau is on Sunday when the entrance fee is reduced and the queues are interminable. A guided tour for an extra twenty-four francs takes you in the King's Private Bedroom, the Royal Opera, and the rooms occupied by Madame du Barry. And, for a little more you can visit the pavilions of the Grand and Petit Trianons.
Don't set out to see all the palace in one day - it's not possible. Quite apart from the size, tours of both Mme du Barry's apartments and of the Dauphin and Dauphine's apartments take place at 2 pm.

The park and Grand and Petit Trianons

If you just feel like taking a stroll, the park is free and the scenery is better the further you go from the palace. There are even informal groups of trees near the lesser outcrops of royal mania : the Italianate Grand Trianon, designed by Hardouin-Mansart in 1687 as a "country retreat" for Louis XIV, and the more modest Greek Petit Trianon, built by Gabriel in the 1760s.
More charming and rustic than either of these is Le hameau de Marie-Antoinette, a play-village and farm built in 1783 for Louis XVI's queen to indulge the fashionable Rousseau-inspired fantasy of returning to the natural life.
The park is extremely large. If you find that you cannot manage them by foot, a small train shuttles between the terrace in front of the château and the Trianons. There are also bicycles for rent by the Grand Canal, itself a good fifteen minutes' walk across the formal gardens, and boats for rent on the canal.

Madame de Sevigne's Portrait of Louis XIV and his Court

It is Sunday, the 26th of April; this letter will not go till Wednesday. It is not really a letter, but an account, which Moreuil has just given me for your benefit, of what happened at Chantilly concerning Vatel. I wrote you on Friday that he had stabbed himself; here is the story in detail. The promenade, the collation in a spot carpeted with jon quils, - all was going to perfection. Supper came; the roast failed at one or two tables on account of a number of unex pected guests. This upset Vatel. He said several times, "My honor is lost; this is a humiliation that I cannot en dure." To Gourville he said, "My head is swimming; I have not slept for twelve nights; help me to give my orders." Gourville consoled him as best he could, but the roast which had failed, not at the king's, but at the twenty-fifth table, haunted his mind. Gourville told Monsieur le Prince about it, and Monsieur le Prince went up to Vatel in his own room and said to him, "Vatel, all goes well; there never was anything so beautiful as the king's supper." He answered, "Monseigneur, your goodness overwhelms me. I know that the roast failed at two tables." "Nothing of the sort," said Monsieur le Prince. "Do not disturb yourself, all is well."

Midnight comes. The fireworks do not succeed on account of a cloud that overspreads them (they cost sixteen thousand francs). At four o'clock in the morning Vatel is wandering about all over the place. Everything is asleep. He meets a small purveyor with two loads of fish and asks him, "Is this all?" "Yes, sir." The man did not know that Vatel had sent to all the seaport towns in France. Vatel waits some time, but the other purveyors do not arrive; he gets excited; he thinks that there will he no more fish. He finds Gourville and says to him, "Sir, I shall not be able to survive this disgrace." Gourville only laughs at him. Then Vatel goes up to his own room, puts his sword against the door, and runs it through his heart, but only at the third thrust, for he gave himself two wounds which were not mortal. He falls dead.

Meanwhile the fish is coming in from every side, and people are seeking for Vatel to distribute it. They go to his room, they knock, they burst open the door, they find him lying bathed in his blood. They send for Monsieur le Prince, who is in utter despair. Monsieur le Duc bursts into tears; it was upon Vatel that his whole journey to Burgundy depended. Monsieur le Prince informed the king, very sadly; they agreed that it all came from Vatel's having his own code of honor, and they praised his courage highly even while they blamed him. The king said that for five years he had delayed his coming because he knew the extreme trouble his visit would cause. He said to Monsieur le Prince that he ought not to have but two tables and not burden himself with the responsibility for everybody, and that he would not permit Monsieur le Prince to do so again; but it was too late for poor Vatel. Gourville, however, tried to repair the loss of Vatel, and did repair it. The dinner was excellent; so was the luncheon. They supped, they walked, they played, they hunted. The scent of jonquils was everywhere; it was all enchanting.