Castles · Tour

Private Versailles with a Three-Course Lunch Included

The lunch is in the price here, which is the thing to check when comparing this against the other private Versailles days: three courses at La Flotille, at the foot of the Grand Canal, with starter, main, wine, dessert and coffee all included. The vehicle is a stretch Mercedes-Benz minivan with a panoramic roof and free WiFi, and the driver is also the licensed guide, working in several languages. The morning covers the State Apartments of Louis XIV and the Hall of Mirrors, which the guide reads as a statement of French political, economic and artistic power. Then free time in the French gardens, with the 55 fountains and the groves, and the walk down the promenade to lunch. The afternoon is the private half of the estate. The Grand Trianon, in pastel-pink marble, exists because the main palace filled with people and Louis XIV wanted somewhere to escape them. The Petit Trianon was Marie Antoinette's, used for entertaining and for getting out from under court etiquette. The Queen's Hamlet nearby is a stylised Norman village and farm, where she withdrew with a few close friends.