Let it be noted that Marie Antoinette never truly said "let them eat cake", but walking through the interior and gardens it's easy to see how she was made to be seen as she was so 'kindly' called Madame Déficit. You can't really grasp the scope of Versailles from just the outside when walking up to the gates. Seeing all the gold and blue combining with the blue skies begins the air of regality that continues once you enter the first doors of Versailles.
I'll start by saying I was really worried we wouldn't make it in time to see Versailles or the gardens. Our school activities ended around 1:30 in the afternoon and from Paris it's about a 45 minute train ride to Versailles. The actual palace closes at 6:30 pm and the gardens close around 8:30 pm. I had been warned various times before that the lines to enter Versailles were sometimes endless and up to two hours to just enter, so with that mental image I was already freaked out. Versailles was number one on my European Study Abroad bucket list. I have an affinity for Marie Antoinette and her misunderstood thrust to the French crown.
When you arrive to the train station in Versailles it's around a seven minute walk to the gates of the Palace and thankfully since we had the museum pass our university gave us in Paris, it covered our entrance to the Palace (and was supposed to cover the gardens as well but since it was a Friday afternoon there was the special fountain show which is an extra fee but there is a student discount). To my surprise, when we arrived at Versailles close to 3 pm there was quite literally no line to enter Versailles. I thought it was some sick joke and that eventually we would run into the incredibly long line everyone had warned me about, but thankfully that was never our predicament. I can only imagine that Versailles in the morning and midday can be excruciating waiting in the long lines if you run into them but the afternoon we went, the weather was perfect, the sky was clear, and we breezed right in.
Every room we entered we were able to take our time and take in all the extravagance and lavish decor. And needless to say, the hall of mirrors did not disappoint, especially as the sun began to set in the distance, the entire room began to glow and for a moment it felt as if no one was in there and I could imagine clearly Louis XVI and his court walking these very halls so very long ago.
When I walked into the gardens of Versailles I did not know what to expect, but photos will never do it justice. I kept reiterating to my friends that I couldn't believe how empty the entire palace and gardens were, I felt truly grateful I was able to experience Versailles like this, I felt like I had a private tour.
Every year for my birthday I have a tradition with myself that I watch the Sofia Coppola version of Marie Antoinette with Kirsten Dunst playing Marie Antoinette and while there are many things about the film that are inaccurate to the historical facts, I couldn't help but feel right smack in the middle of the movie as I walked the very same places where they filmed.
Since we got to Versailles in the afternoon we were able to stay in the gardens right up until they closed, which meant I got to experience one of the most incredible sunsets I have ever seen in my life. I truly recommend that if you make your way to Versailles later in the day you stay until the sun sets behind the gardens.
Versailles has a piece of my heart and when I make my way back to Paris, I'll make sure to pay a friendly visit to Versailles once more.
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