Night Fountains Show : Every Saturday from june the 19th to August the 28th 2010
Royal Serenade + Night Fountains Show : Every Saturday from june the 19th to August the 28th 2010
The royal wedding of louis XIV : Fireworks show - Every Saturday of september
The Park of Versailles spreads over more than 800 hectares and it is completely fenced. Other than the palace itself,
it encloses several famous sites that add to the renown of Versailles : the Orangerie, the Grand Canal, the French gardens,
the fountains, and the Estate of Marie-Antoinette with the Petit Trianon and the Grand Trianon.
This huge park with its gardens, bosquets, caves and fountains should not be missed while visiting Versailles. It was set
up from 1661 to 1700 by the master gardener Le Nôtre. The Park of Versailles is considered as the model of French gardens.
It is adorned with statues of marble, bronze, or lead, fountains in play and the myth of Apollo is a reference.
Visit the park of the palace of Versailles
The Orangerie is located under the “Parterre du Midi” in the lower part of the palace. It consists of a 155 m
long central gallery and two galeries on the sides located under the “escalier des Cent Marches”. The Orangerie is
13 m high, it gathers more than 1000 trees : orange trees, lemon trees, pomegranates (some of them being several
centuries old), rose-bays… and it is enlighted by large windows. The trees do not produce many fruits, the gardeners
of the palace of Versailles bring them out every year from mid-May to mid-October.
Visit the Orangerie
The cross-shaped Grand Canal is 1.5 km long, 62 m wide and the total rim is 5.5 km. In its principal axis,
it extends the perspective of the gardens to the infinity. With the line of beech trees, oak trees, ash trees
and wild cherry trees it displays an harmonious overview.
The Grand Canal was used during royal events as a starting point for fireworks or as a real theater set. During Louis XIV
reign, it hosted a three-masted ship, a galley, rowboats, gondolas from Venice… From a practical point of view, the Grand
Canal is located on a lower level than the palace, it collects water from the fountains and pump it back to its starting point.
Visit the Grand Canal
There are more than 30 fountains in the gardens of Versailles, the most famous are : the Neptune fountain,
the Apollo fountain and the Latona fountain. During Les Grandes Eaux Musicales de Versailles the 50 fountains
contribute to the great show of water-jets. The Neptune fountain presents 150 different water effects during
this show!
Visit the fountains of the palace of Versailles
France Tourisme : Specialist sightseeing and excursions in France
France Tourisme also offers
to visit Paris,
free visit, guided visit, by car or private bus with driver, 2CV, private tour, Paris by night tour ... dinner in the best
restaurants and enjoy the magic of Parisian nights, to attend shows of the famous Lido and Moulin Rouge,
cruise or dinner cruise one the Seine River, rent a boat for personnal or
company's events, discover everything of Paris.
Discover our selection of excursions or sightseeing in France at the best prices : Bruges, Normandy, Mont Saint Michel, Loire Castles, Giverny, ...