Completed in 1768, the Petit Trianon provided Louis XV and his Mistress the Comtesse Du Barry with the privacy which was so sorely lacking at the palace.

Trianon palaces and gardens

In an attempt to gain some brief respite from courtly etiquette, the kings of Versailles built themselves more intimate spaces close to the main palace. Adjoining the Petit Parc, the estate of Trianon is home to the Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon palaces, as well as the Queen’s Hamlet and a variety of ornamental gardens.

In 1774, Louis XVI gave the Petit Trianon and its estate as a gift to his young bride Marie-Antoinette. – © Thomas Garnier

The Grand Trianon was erected by Jules Hardouin-Mansart in 1687, commissioned by Louis XIV to get away from the arduous pomp of life in the court and to pursue his affair with Madame de Montespan. This little palace of pink marble and porphyry is perhaps the most refined architectural ensemble found on the royal estate of Versailles. – © Thomas Garnier

**The Grand Trianon **

“A little palace of pink marble and porphyry, with marvellous gardens,” wrote Jules Hardouin-Mansart, architect of the Grand Trianon. Heavily influenced by Italian architecture, this royal residence is set over a single storey flanked by a courtyard on one side and gardens on the other. A balustrade runs around the flat roof, previously adorned with sculptures of children, ornamental vases and other figures. An architectural historian adroitly noted the aesthetic originality of this structure, combining as it does the “elevation of an orangery, the layout of a warren and the materials of a royal residence.”

The Petit Trianon

In 1758 Louis XV decided to build a new château in the middle of his gardens, which he had been working on for more than a decade. He commissioned royal architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel to build a new royal residence large enough to house the king and some of his entourage. A few years later Louis XVI was brought to the throne and gave the Petit Trianon and its estate to his young bride, Marie-Antoinette, who rapidly made it her own and set about redecorating the exteriors in the style of Anglo-Oriental gardens.

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