Versailles à vélo

The mill is located in the charming Queen's Hamlet at Versailles.

Years ago, on my first trip to France, my sister and I visited the Château de Versailles. The grounds here are enormous, and it's a daunting task to explore the massive grounds on foot. I've returned to Paris many times over the years, but never in the right season to tackle Versailles by bike. This time, it would be different. Once my husband and I decide to take a last-minute trip to Paris, I quickly signed up for a Versailles tour with Blue Fox Travel, the same company that 11 years ago took us on a terrific nighttime bike tour of Paris. 

We arrive at Gare Saint-Lazere early enough to grab a pastry and coffee before joining our guide. After meeting the other members of our group, which include two  families and a few other couples, we're given our tickets and board the train to Versailles, about a half-hour away. After a short walk from the station to the market area, we're given a tour of some of the market halls and offered samples of some of French delicacies. We're then given time to wander on our own and pick up food for a picnic lunch, which we'll enjoy later. 

The market in Versailles is our first stop on our tour.

We regroup and head off to collect our bikes and receive some safety instructions. Helmets are provided for the kids and anyone else who wants them. The bikes have paniers to stow our lunches and jackets, as well as ponchos in case it rains. No chance of that on this beautiful day, but the ponchos will come in handy later to sit on when we have our picnic.

Our bike tour of Versailles includes frequent stops for rest and little history lessons.

We ride through the grounds at an easy pace, stopping several times at notable (and shady) spots so our guide can give us some history lessons to improve our understanding of the French monarchy and the role Versailles has played. 

We're happy to be riding through Versailles and very happy it's time for lunch.

We stop for lunch at the far end of Grand Canal and have more than enough time to stretch out and chat with our fellow passengers. Our guide keeps things lively with an impromptu game of French pop culture trivia.  

The Cotelle Gallery at the Grand Trianon is lined by 24 paintings
depicting the Trianon grounds at Versailles. 

After lunch we head over to the two private homes on the grounds: the Grand and Petit Trianons. The Grand Trianon is a Baroque-style summer home/love nest built for Louis XIV in 1687. Its architect, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, described the Grand Trianon as "A little palace of pink marble and porphyry with marvelous gardens." 

This window at the Grand Trianon looks out on the vast
English gardens at Versailles.

In later years, this was a summer home to Marie Leszczynska, wife of Louis XV and daughter of King Stanislaw I of Poland. The palace was looted during the French Revolution, but it was later restored and used by Napoleon and his wife, the Empress Marie-Louise (Marie Antoinette's great niece). Charles DeGaulle again restored the building in 1963 to use it to host foreign dignitaries. 

The Petit Trianon's reception room contains wainscoting with intricate
sculpted moulding and a spectacular bronze light fixture commissioned
by Marie-Antoinette.

It's just a short ride to our next stop, the Petit Trianon. In 1758, Louis XV had been working on a decades-long gardening project, and decided that another little getaway palace was just what the garden needed. He commissioned the royal architect to design a Greek-style pavilion for he and his entourage. The Petit Trianon was completed in 1768. After Louix XV's death, Louis XVI gave the the palace to his wife Marie-Antoinette who redesigned and embellished the estate to her tastes. A hunded years later, the Petit Trianon became a museum dedicated to Marie-Antoinette.  

I glance back to see the Petit Trianon on my way to the Queen's Hamlet.

But my favorite part of the Château de Versailles grounds is the Queen's Hamlet, a short walk from Petit Trianon. This part of the gardens, contains 10 rustic-looking buildings set around a lake. To me this could be the ritzy part of the Shire. There's a farm here with enormous vegetables, a windmill. and even a lighthouse. Marie-Antoinette reserved three of the buildings for her personal use. Aside from the Queen, there were only a few residents of hamlet including her guard and a gardener, but no hobbits. 

Marlborough Tower at the Queen's Hamlet in Versailles was
named for a song that was popular at the time. 

Although I can't see over the sea of tourists' heads, I can look up
to admire the spectacular ceilings at the Palace of Versailles. 

It's on the far side of afternoon when we return our bikes and walk over to the Château of Versailles. Our guide tells us we can explore the palace on our own, take our time, and catch whatever train back to Paris that we want. I know a few of our fellow bikers call it a day at this point and make a beeline to the train station. We're bushed, but we're game to visit the Palace. 

Versailles's Hall of Mirrors contains 357 mirrors. Balls, receptions,
weddings, and diplomatic milestones have all taken place here.   

Just as I remember from my first visit here, the place is packed with people making it impossible to fully appreciate all that this palace contains. I insist that we stick it out at least until the Hall of Mirrors. This is the most famous room of the palace. The 73-meter-long hallway pays tribute to the political, economic, and artistic success of France. Most notably, this is where the Treaty of Versailles was signed at the end of World War I.

Château de Versailles is seen from the far end of the Grand Canal.

Despite our hours peddling around the Versailles grounds, we aren't able to see everything. I think the next time we visit, perhaps with our grandchildren, we'll rent one of those little electric golf cars. The entire grounds are free to visit so if you aren't visiting the palaces, you can explore at your leisure. 

For more information

Château de Versailles

Blue Fox Travel Paris and Versailles bike tours