“Let Them Eat Cake” : Day Out at Versailles

By Andrea Finlay, Sciences Po, Paris, France

One of the many bonuses of doing a year abroad in Paris is that I am only a short commute from some of the world’s most famous landmarks.

One of the many bonuses of doing a year abroad in Paris is that I am only a short commute from some of the world’s most famous landmarks. An even bigger bonus is that most of these renowned landmarks are free for citizens under the age of 25! So, on a lovely sunny morning, a friend and I took the 45-minute train to Versailles (on our free Navigo pass) and spent the day marvelling at the beautiful landscapes and history.

Versailles is a small suburb of Paris, 45 minutes away from the capital, and the town is predominantly built around the grandiose Chateau de Versailles. The palace attracts around 15 million visitors every year with its lavish rooms, varied art collections and the most beautiful gardens. The Chateau is considered one of France’s national treasures and it really is not that difficult to see why; it was one of my favourite historical monuments that we have visited out here.

We walked through the infamous Hall of Mirrors, or La Galerie des Glaces in French, which is the most recognisable room in the entire palace. The room was created sometime between 1679 and 1684 and boasts 17 arcades covered in mirrors. The room was predominantly used as a meeting place during the reign of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. Versailles is extremely important to French culture given its significance in the French Revolution; King Louis XVI was the last king to live in the Palace of Versailles before the monarchy was abolished on 21^st September 1792.

My friend, Giselle, is on exchange from University of Sydney and was, for lack of better words, baffled by the palace. “They don’t have anything like this in Australia” she said. Although study abroad does revolve around university and studies, the most rewarding and enriching experiences is visiting a new place and learning about the culture and the history. Granted, neither Giselle nor myself knew a lot about the history of the Chateau de Versailles so we were pretty chuffed with our free day out!

We ended our day out with a picnic in the grounds of Versailles which were beautiful. The sun was shining which made the experience even better. Currently, Versailles is undergoing preparations to host the equestrian events and the modern pentatholon for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic games.