Continuing with our tour of the Chateau de Versailles …

The Grand Trianon is another palace within the grounds of the palace of Versailles that we visited. It turned out to be a great escape from the horde of tourists. Plan du Chateau, courtesy of Wikipedia.

The palace is divided into two wings separated by a courtyard and connected by a peristyle (see next post).  The exterior of the palace is covered in red marble.

In the rain, we took a small train from the main palace to come here. Because of the limited schedule of the train and the 7 euros fare, not many people bothered to visit this smaller palace.

Le Grand Trianon is a one-storey palace that Louis XIV erected in 1680’s to escape the fussy and rigid formality of court life with his mistress.

While the main palace is ceremonial and built to impress, the Grand Trianon is designed for the king’s royal enjoyment. Because it is smaller than the main palace, it is much easier to appreciate and experience, at a personal level, the grandeur of the Grand Trianon as a residence.

During the French Revolution of 1789, the Grand Trianon was left to neglect. At the time of the First French Empire, Napoleon had the palace restored before staying here on many occasions with his second wife.

In 1963 Charles de Gaulle had it restored as a guesthouse for the presidents of France.

Richard Nixon stayed at the Grand Trianon in 1969 and Queen Elizabeth II in 1972.

The Grand Trianon became a UNESCO world heritage site in 1979.

It is now a museum and tourist magnet.

For more information, check out their web site here.