Paris - Palace Courtyard - Versailles

Plate CIV – Palace Courtyard …

Turning from the gates to face the palace, the sky was becoming heavily clouded. Having been uncertain in which order to visit - the palace first, or the gardens - my mind was made up by this sight. I knew that European rain storms were relatively short and unlike those lasting several hours or even whole days that I knew from Africa, they’d appear, rain themselves out and then as if another season had arrived the sun would shine again. A few hours of visiting the palace interiors would give this one time to pass. Wouldn’t it?

And so it was I entered the palace doors …

The first chateau dating from the 1630’s was originally a hunting lodge built for Louis XIII, then mainly resident at Vincennes. It was however Louis XIV who decided to move the royal court from Paris to Versailles, declaring the Palace his official residence in 1682, which it was to remain until his death here in 1715. It was he who commissioned the majestic designs of both the palace and the grand gardens known today. The wonderful symmetry of the palace can be seen as you approach the main entrance.