We visited the Palace of Versailles, a royal chateau in Versailles.  When the chateau was built, Versailles was a country village.   Today it is a wealthy suburb of Paris, about 20 km southwest of Paris.  The court of Versailles was the centre of political power in France in  1682, when Louis XIV moved there from Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in October 1789 after the beginning of the French Revolution.  

20140619_France_0002 Our group walking to the Palace.

20140619_France_0001 This equestrian statue of Louis XIV is an equestrian statue in bronze located on the Place d'Arms in front of the Palace of Versailles.  Louis XIV  known as Louis the Great, was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France from 1643 until his death.  His region of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any monarch of a major country in European history. Louis continued his predecessors' work of creating a centralized state governed form the capita.  He sought to eliminate the remnants of feudalism persisting in parts of France.  By compelling many members of the nobility to inhabit his lavish Palace of Versailles, he succeeded in pacifying the aristocracy, many members of which had participated in the Fronde rebellion during Louis's minority.  He became one of the most powerful French monarchs and consolidated a system of absolute monarchical rule in France that lasted until the French Revolution.

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In 1575, the seigneury of Versailles was bought by Albert de Gondi, a naturalized Florentine, who invited Louis XIII on serval hunting trips in the forests surrounding Versailles.  Louis liked the location and ordered the construction of a hunting lodge in 1624.  Eight years later, Louis obtained the property from the Gondi family and began to make enlargements to the chateau.  This structure would become the core of the new palace.  Louis XIII's successor, Louis XIV had it expanded into one of the largest palaces in the world.  Following the Treaties of Nijmegen in 1678, he began to gradually move the court to Versailles.  The court was officially established there on May 6, 1682.

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20140619_France_0005 After photographing the outside of the palace I walked around the gardens.  Situated to the west of the palace, the gardens cover some 800 hectares of land.  The gardens are now one of the most visited public sites in France, receiving more than six million visitors  a year.  In addition to the meticulous manicured lawns, flowers and sculptures are the fountains which are located through the gardens.  

20140619_France_0001 Le Bassin d'Apollo (The fountain of Apollo) depicts the Greek god Apollo rising from the sea in a four-horse chariot.  A pond was dug on the site of the fountain in 1639 called "The Pond of the Swans".   King Louis XIV  had the pond enlarged in 1671.  Now the pond is used for boating.  

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20140619_France_0004 A cottage (tea room) on the property.  In 1979, the gardens along with the chateau were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, one of thirty-one such designations in France.  

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Later on in the afternoon, I ended up walking back to the Seine River and Notre Dame. It was my last chance to see the area on this trip.  I actually took my tripod and did a few long exposure shots.  

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20140619_France_0013 For our final group dinner Michael took us to dinner at Le Chalet des Iles.  In order to get to the Island where the restaurant is located we took a short ferry ride.   The restaurant is situated on the lake of du Bois de Boulogne which gives you the impression of being far away from the frenzy of Paris.  We walked around before dinner admiring the gardens and the nice views of the lake.  

20140619_France_0014 The food was delicious and very nicely presented.  We sat outside on the patio and had a great time.

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20140619_France_0017 A view of the restaurant from the ferry.