There is always something magical when wandering around the parterres or one of the fifteen groves of the Gardens.

The Gardens

The Gardens of Versailles were the envy of kings and queens across Europe during the Baroque Period, and served as a model for magnificent royal gardens across the continent.

The Grande Perspective bisects the Gardens like an axis of symmetry, passing Latona’s Fountain and following the Royal Way as far as Apollo on his Chariot and the Grand Canal. – © Thomas Garnier

Made of bronze, marble or lead, the 386 sculptures in Versailles, including 221 decorating the Gardens, make it the largest open-air sculpture museum in the world. – © Thomas Garnier

The Grande Perspective stretching away towards the horizon follows the path of the sun in the sky. – © Thomas Garnier

The Grand Canal is 1,670 meters long and its banks have played host to legendary parties. – © Thomas Garnier

The Grande Perspective bisects the Gardens like an axis of symmetry, passing Latona’s Fountain and following the Royal Way as far as Apollo on his Chariot and the Grand Canal. – © Thomas Garnier

In 1661 Louis XIV entrusted André Le Nôtre with the creation and renovation of the gardens of Versailles, which he considered just as important as the Palace. Work on the gardens was started at the same time as the work on the palace and lasted for 40 or so years. During this time André Le Nôtre collaborated with the likes of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Superintendant of Buildings to the King from 1664 to 1683, who managed the project, and Charles Le Brun, who was made First Painter to the King in January 1664 and provided the drawings for a large number of the statues and fountains.

Last but not least, each project was reviewed by the King himself, who was keen to see “every detail”. Not long after, the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart, having been made First Architect to the King and Superintendant of Buildings, built the Orangery and simplified the outlines of the Park, in particular by modifying or opening up some of the groves.

Creating the gardens was a monumental task. Large amounts of soil had to be shifted to level the ground, create parterres, build the Orangery and dig out the fountains and Grand Canal in places previously occupied solely by meadows and marshes. Trees were brought in from different regions of France. Thousands of men, sometimes even entire regiments, took part in this immense project.

To maintain the design, the garden needed to be replanted approximately once every 100 years. Louis XVI did so at the beginning of his reign, and the undertaking was next carried out during the reign of Napoleon III. Following damage caused by a series of storms in the late 20th century, including one in December 1999, which was the most devastating, the garden has been fully replanted and now boasts a fresh, youthful appearance similar to how it would have looked to Louis XIV.

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