Science, Photography, and Trip Reviews
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Versailles France Tour of Scenic & Historic Sights
Palace of Versailles, Gardens, Pools, & Fountains
Paintings, Statues, Chapel, & Marie Antoinette
Globus, Avalon Waterways, & River Cruise
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Palace of Versailles. |
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River Cruise Monaco/Nice to Paris
We were on a Globus Avalon small-ship river cruise tour that started in the French Riviera and Monaco, where we spent one night on the tour. From Monte Carlo we were taken to Arles, France on the Rhone River to board the Avalon Scenery for our seven-night cruise through Southern France. We were headed north in the Rhone River and then the Saone River. For details of our river cruise including shore excursions go to the different regions in the following order: Provence, Rhone Valley and Alps, and Burgundy. From Beaune we were taken by motor coach to Dijon. From there we took a high speed bullet train to Paris, where we spent two nights. From Paris we did an excursion to Versailles, which is explained here. For details of the ship and onboard activities go to Avalon Scenery. Contact Us for more information.
Palace
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Royal Chapel. |
The palace of Versailles is very large, and wherever you look you find opulence and beautiful views. The original palace was built for Louis XIII. But it was during the reign of Louis IV that the palace was siginificantly enlarged. Further improvements occurred during the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI. Above is a view of the upper two levels of the Royal Chapel.
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Hercules Drawing Room. |
Above is seen the Hercules Drawing-Room. Like all of the rooms it is simply gorgeous. There are beautiful paintings on the walls and ceilings.
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Statue in the palace. |
There are numerous statues scattered throughout the palace. One example is shown above.
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Painting on the ceiling of a palace room. |
The ceilings are covered with maginficent paintings that are both colorful and beautiful. Note the examples shown above and below.
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Painting on the ceiling of a palace room. |
There are also numerous chandeliers hanging in many rooms of the palace, as in the one above.
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Ceiling corner of a room with statuesque figures as well as paintings. |
In addition to the paintings some rooms have statuesque figures and other constructions that protrude from the ceilings such as seen in the corner of the ceiling shown above.
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Hall of Mirrors room. |
The impressive Hall of Mirrors room is 239 feet (73 meters) long. While we were there this room, as well as other rooms were very crowded with tourists from all over the world. However, the palace is much more crowded during high season in Europe. It is worth taking this into consideration when planning your visits to Verailles.
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Sunny and Rebecca in the Hall of Mirrors room. |
Above we are pictured in the Hall of Mirrors room. Hanging around our necks are radio receivers with an earplug in our ears. As a result, we were always able to hear the remarks of our local guide as we toured the palace.
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Queen's Bedroom. |
Above is a picture of the Queen's Bedroom. One of the queens that occupied these quarters was Marie Antoinette shown in a painting, which is pictured below.
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Painting of Queen Marie Antoinette and children. |
Marie Antoinette became queen when she married Louis VI. She was from Austria. During the French Revolution the monarchy was abolished. After her husband was executed she was convicted of treason and died at the guillotine. Below our local guide, Natasha, is telling us about the palace. She was excellent.
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Guide telling us about the Palace of Versailles. |
Our local guide, Natashia, was excellent. She had great knowledge of the Palace of Versailles.
Gardens
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Pool in the palace gardens. |
The gardens of the palace are very large and attractive. Above a pool is seen and below a fountain is pictured.
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Fountain in the palace gardens. |
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Statue in the palace gardens. |
There are many statues seen throughout the property, such as the one shown above and the many seen in the picture below.
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Palace gardens with statues. |
There is so much to see that you could easily spend a day exploring the Palace of Versailles.
River Cruise Monaco/Nice to Paris
We were on a Globus Avalon small-ship river cruise tour that started in the French Riviera and Monaco, where we spent one night on the tour. From Monte Carlo we were taken to Arles, France on the Rhone River to board the Avalon Scenery for our seven-night cruise through Southern France. We were headed north in the Rhone River and then the Saone River. For details of our river cruise including shore excursions go to the different regions in the following order: Provence, Rhone Valley and Alps, and Burgundy. From Beaune we were taken by motor coach to Dijon. From there we took a high speed bullet train to Paris, where we spent two nights. From Paris we did an excursion to Versailles, which is explained here. For details of the ship and onboard activities go to Avalon Scenery.
Photos by Sunny Breeding. Photo of Sunny & Rebecca by Alan. Picture of Sunny and Rebecca was taken by our guide Natashia. We sell images and prints.
