A Trip to Versailles Palace
While planning my birthday trip to Paris, a tour of the Palace of Versailles was definitely on my must-do list! Our fantastic travel agent (Travel Designs by Judy) booked us a full-day, 8-hour excursion to the palace and it was a true bucket-list experience! To learn more about our experience using a travel agent AND our other Parisian experiences, please visit my blog post all about Le Cordon Bleu.
The Palace of Versailles is located in the city of Versailles, about 12 miles southwest of the Paris city center. Our travel agent arranged a private guide/driver throughout our stay in France so getting to Versailles from our Paris hotel was no problem.
A Quick History Lesson
Louis XIII originally commissioned Versailles as a hunting lodge in 1624. After taking the throne, his son, Louis XIV wanted to establish Versailles as the seat of the French government, meaning the Court of Versailles would reside there.
Between 1661 and 1715 the hunting lodge underwent major renovations to become one of the largest palaces in the world. The Palace of Versailles became the center of political power in France and a symbol of absolute monarchy.
Versailles: A Palace Fit For a King & Queen
The most well-known residents of The Palace of Versailles were King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. Louis XVI was the last king of France. He ruled from 1774 until 1792 when the French Revolution stripped the King & Queen of their power and led to their beheadings.
After the French Revolution, the palace was in the hands of the new government and much of the remaining furnishing and artwork were sold or donated to the Louvre. The palace had been looted during the revolution and many of the artifacts had been destroyed.
In 1837 The Palace of Versailles was reopened as the Museum of the History of France. A major historic event took place in the palace in 1919. The signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919, solidified the end of World War I and took place inside the Hall of Mirrors.
Visiting Versailles
We were fortunate to have a private tour guide during our visit to Versailles. Our tour guide was a native Parisian and he was so fantastic! His knowledge of the history of Versailles was incredible and he was so good, other visitors were asking HIM questions about the palace! An added bonus, we were able to skip the line to get inside the palace because our guide knew some key people!
The Palace of Versailles consists of four main areas:
- The Main Palace
- The Gardens & Park of Versailles
- The Estate of Trianon & the Queen’s Hamlet
- The Royal Stables
We were lucky enough to tour all of the areas of Versailles except the Royal Stables. During our visit in November, the stables were closed to the public.
There is so much to see and share about Versailles, I have limited this post to just the Palace. Be on the lookout for future posts about the Gardens, Trianon, and the Queen’s Hamlet.
Touring the Main Palace
The Palace of Versailles is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it truly must be seen to be believed! The Palace contains 2,300 rooms spread over almost 680,000 square feet. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes and have your phone/camera ready! The over-the-top opulence is going to leave you breathless I promise!
Highlights of Versailles Palace
The Royal Chapel – The Royal Chapel is where the court gathered every morning at 10 am for the King’s mass. It is two-story absolutely beautiful.
King’s State Apartments – The King’s State Apartments feature 7 elaborate rooms which include the Venus room, Diana room, Mars room, Mercury room (the room where Louis XIV coffin was on display after his death), the Apollo room (used as the throne room beginning in 1682), the War room, and the Peace room.
The Hall of Mirrors
The Hall of Mirrors is the most popular room in The Palace of Versailles. The 240-foot-long hall is lined with 17 arches and comprised of 357 small mirrors. The artwork lining the halls speaks to the history of France. The Hall of Mirrors served as a daily passageway between the King & Queens state apartments.
Final Thoughts
The Palace Of Versailles is a study of over-the-top opulence and I loved every minute of it! Be sure to include a day trip to Versailles on your Paris visit. If I’m fortunate enough to visit Paris in the spring, I’ll definitely come back to see the gardens of Versailles in bloom. I’d love to hear from any of you that may have visited Versailles, what was your favorite experience? Thanks for reading and I hope this post inspires you to visit The Palace of Versailles!
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Food & Fun, Parisian Style
For my 41st birthday, I was fortunate enough to spend 2 weeks in France with my husband, 1 week in Paris, and 1 week in Nice. It was without a doubt the vacation of my dreams! I experienced so much culture in those 2 weeks, it forever changed my outlook on the world & life in general. You’ll definitely see more of my adventures in France as I get more posts up, but for now, let’s start with the personal cooking class I took at Le Cordon Bleu, Paris!
Since France was my first international trip, I definitely wanted to rely on the expertise of a travel agent, to ensure I had a wonderful European experience. I wanted a vacation that was full of activities and adventure, but that also allowed enough free time for my husband and me to explore France on our own. Enter Judy from Travel Designs by Judy!
Travel Designs by Judy
From our initial introductory phone call, I knew Judy was the right travel agent for me. She really listened to my wishes and helped craft a vacation that was straight from my dream board! As we were working out what I’d like to experience in France, Judy asked about my profession. When I told her that my husband and I owned a restaurant, she suggested taking a cooking class during our time in Paris. I was slightly hesitant at first because we spend so much time in a kitchen for a living. I was afraid a cooking class would feel like “work” and not a vacation. Boy, am I glad to be WRONG! I trusted Judy’s input and experience and went ahead with the cooking class on the Paris itinerary. Judy booked us a five-and-a-half-hour personal cooking class at Le Cordon Bleu, Paris.
Founded in 1895 in Paris, Le Cordon Bleu is a leading global network of culinary arts and hospitality management institutes. Their state-of-the-art flagship campus in Paris is just past the Seine River and very close to the Eiffel Tower! Below is a video of our drive to the campus and a quick view of the beautiful facilities!
The Art of French Cuisine: Brittany
Cooking courses at Le Cordon Bleu, Paris are offered in small groups under the supervision of a Chef. Our course was focused on the cuisine of Brittany and we would be making a 3-course meal made of classic & traditional Breton recipes. Fun Fact…The courses are taught in French and consecutively translated into English by a translator. The French really helped us feel even more immersed in the culture!
Brittany is a peninsula in the northwest of France. Surrounded by the sea, Brittany offers a wide range of fresh seafood and fish. Brittany is also known as a producer of artichokes and cauliflower. The menu we would be preparing highlighted Brittany’s specialties and included:
Velvet crab soup with Camus artichoke & anchovy puree croutons
“Caribbean” scallops, with Colombo spice cauliflower
Brittany flan with apples and rum-macerated prunes
Let’s Get Cooking!
Upon our arrival at Le Cordon Bleu, we were immediately greeted and warmly welcomed by a staff member that knew Sidney was a Chef. The personal welcome made us feel like mini celebrities! I knew that my wonderful travel agent, Judy had mentioned to Le Cordon Bleu about us owning a restaurant and Sidney being a classically trained Chef. It was just one more reason I was glad I used Travel Designs by Judy!
Just before the cooking class began, Chef Rene Kerdranvat personally greeted Sidney and me and inquired about our restaurant back in Durham…more rock-star treatment! It was so funny watching the other class participants wonder who Sidney & I were and why we were being greeted by everyone, it was a fun start to the class!
Even though the cooking class itself was 5.5 hours, it flew by! By the time we did all of our prep, 2 hours had already passed and it was break time. Le Cordon Bleu has the most delightful cafe run by students inside the facility. During our break, I enjoyed some freshly baked pastries and a coffee like a true Parisian. Everything was freshly baked by the students and was fantastic!
After our break, we all headed back to the kitchen for more cooking under the guidance and direction of the Chef. The menu was complex and challenging (shelling and preparing fresh scallops is NOT easy) but luckily for me, my husband (the Chef) was right beside me and fixed all of the mistakes I made in the kitchen.
Please follow this link to view a video of us in action at Le Cordon Bleu!
Taste Test!
The cooking class was rounded off in style with a tasting of the dishes we prepared, served with a glass of wine that was specifically chosen to match the menu. We got to eat our meals alongside the other class participants, and it was a real bonding experience. Le Cordon Bleu keeps the class sizes small so there were only about 8 of us total. After spending 5 hours working in a kitchen together, we really got to know each other, and sharing the fruits of our labor together was nice. We met folks from Australia, London, and China and there were even some fellow Americans in class from Atlanta, GA!
All of our meals turned out fantastic, I regret not snapping photos of the final dishes! My favorite menu item was the velvet crab soup, aptly named because it was so creamy and smooth. I’m not typically a fan of artichokes but the puree we made under Chef Kerdranvat’s direction was delicious and was delightful on the croutons served with the soup. Chef Kerdranvat hails from Brittany so it was like an added bonus having our Chef Instruction be from the region the class was centered on, well done Le Cordon Bleu!
After dinner, we returned to the kitchen to say our goodbyes and thanks to Chef. I was amazed to see the goodies waiting at our kitchen stations! We had already received crisp white Le Cordon Bleu aprons, hats, and tea towels. Now there were large cooler bags for each of us to take home the dessert (Brittany Flan) we baked earlier in class! We also received certificates of completion and they were personally signed by Chef…the perfect Le Cordon Bleu souvenirs!
Final Thoughts
If you’re in Paris and you are looking for a fun, non-traditional experience, consider taking a cooking course at Le Cordon Bleu, Paris! It was such a sophisticated yet approachable experience. I can’t recommend it enough, we loved our time at Le Cordon Bleu, Paris!
Our France vacation was a package price so in this instance I don’t have itemized costs to share with you.
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