Versailles Places - Gardens

Find information about the most visited places in Versailles

Inside the Gardens of Versailles

The Gardens of Versailles they are the most popular French gardens, not only in France but also in the rest of the world. A palace occupying a huge area inhabited by many kings and which has seen many plants planted since its creation, more than 300 years ago. The Gardens of Versailles cover an area of ​​800 hectares, adorned by approximately 200,000 trees and around 210,000 flowers planted each year. These plants consume an average of 3600 cubic meters of water. If you want to visit them, you must go to the Place d’Armes, in Versailles, France.

The Orangery

One of the most exotic areas of the entire Versailles Garden is the Orangery, which was built by Louis Le Vau and contains more than 1000 trees that are placed in ornate boxes. Apart from orange trees it also has oleander, pomegranate, lemon, olive, and palm trees. The queen’s suite and the majority of the South Wing apartments provide views of the Orangery. Six elegantly patterned lawns spread out from a circular pond that marks the Orangery’s center. Additionally, it has a 13-meter-high vaulted ceiling, a central gallery that stretches for more than 150 meters, and doors that open into a magnificent garden.

orangerie of versailles

The Groves

The little gardens hiding away in the woods are ornamented with statues, vases, and fountains. Fifteen kinds of wood previously serve scattered around the large garden as open-air salons. Among these are also Chestnut Grove, which features two rows of chestnut trees, the Ballroom Grove, which was created as a living amphitheater, and Apollo’s Baths Grove, depicting an English-style garden having a lake in the middle and a large artificial rock enhanced with a grotto and cascades. The Queens Grove, which highlights Virginia tulip trees, the Chestnut Grove, which features two rows of chestnut trees, and the Chestnut Grove are also included.

versailles gardens places

The Sculpture

Known as one of the largest open-air sculpture museums in the world, the Palace of Versailles includes 386 sculptures made of lead, marble, and bronze. The sculptures, which all depict varied themes of love, celebration, power, and glory, were all ordered by Louis XIV and utilized as symbols of the King’s might, power, and magnanimity. Apollo, the sun god, appears frequently in the artwork. Among many sculptures, Latona’s Fountain sculpture depicting Apollo as a kid and Dragon’s Fountain sculpture depicting Python killed by Apollo are the top ones.

Millions of tourists enjoy this historical place each year, and great care has been taken to maintain the masterpieces in the gardens, which showcase a collection of statues and sculptures by some of the finest painters of the 17th century.

sculptures at versailles gardens
©EPV / Thomas Garnier

Parterres and paths

The garden side of the Palace contains three large parterres, one is known as the Water Parterre, which has two huge rectangular ponds and is a lovely example of how light can be used in decorations, reflects the sun’s rays and illuminates the exterior wall of the Hall of Mirrors.

The other among the three is South Parterre, also remembered as a flower garden has two bronze sphinxes on either side. A beautiful view of the Orangery is available from the balustrade.

The third one is North Parterre. Two bronze sculptures, The Grinder and Modest Venus, both created in 1688, are the beginning of the North Parterre. The space is divided by a large circular pool that features the Pyramid Fountain. The three-year construction of the fountain, which was created by Charles Le Brun, features three tiers of lead basins supported by Tritons, dolphins, and crayfish.

versailles gardens

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