Getting there in .NET

Printing Data Matrix 2d barcode in .NET Getting there

You can zip out to Versailles from Paris in half an hour on the RER C line (you want the C5 heading to Versailles Rive Gauche station) Versailles is in zone 4 of the public-transport system, so the Mobilis one-day pass will run you 930 ($15) covering not just there and back but also your M tro ride to Rive Gauche Keep in mind that it s free if you have a Eurail pass From the train station to the palace is a 15-minute stroll, or you can take a shuttle bus

What started in 1624 as a hunting lodge for Louis XIII was turned by Louis XIV into a palace of truly monumental proportions and appointments over his 72-year reign (1643 1715) The Sun King made himself into an absolute monarch, the likes of which hadn t been seen since the Caesars, and he created a palace, which is more like a small city that he believed to be befitting of his stature You can wander the State Apartments, Hall of Mirrors (where the Treaty of Versailles ending World War I was signed), and Royal Chapel on your own (or with an audio tour), but taking one of the guided tours is much more informative and gets you into many parts of the palace not open to the casual visitor These tours are popular and fill up fast, so your first order of business should be to head to the tour reservations office and sign up for one You may have to wait an hour or more, so book an even later tour and use the intervening time to explore the magnificent gardens Le N tre (who designed Greenwich Park in London and the Vatican Gardens in Rome) laid out the hundreds of acres of palace grounds in the most exacting 17th-century standards of decorative gardening The highlights are the 2 3-mile-long Grand Canal, once plied by a small warship and Venetian gondolas; the Grand Trianon, a sort of palace away from home for when the king wanted a break from the main ch teau; and the Petit Trianon, a jewel of a mansion done in fine neoclassical style

Nearby is Marie Antoinette s fairy-tale Hameau, or hamlet, created so Her Majesty could enjoy a cleaned-up version of peasant life Here the queen fished, milked the occasional cow, and watched hired peasants lightly toil at the everyday tasks she imagined they did in the country she even had a little house in the faux country built here, sort of a thatched mansion Versailles has complicated hours and admissions The ch teau (% 0130-84-76-18) is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9 am to 6:30 pm (until 5:30 pm Nov Mar) Your best bet is to buy the one-day all-access pass, which allows entry to the palace, Grand and Petit Trianons, gardens, and estate of Marie Antoinette, as well as audio-guide tours of the palace and gardens for 20 ($32) weekdays and 25 ($40) weekends March through October (16 /$26 weekends Nov Feb) The park and gardens are open year-round, from 8 am in summer and 9 am in winter until sunset Admission to the park and gardens is free Admission is free for all venues for children under 18 On Sundays in May through October, there is a weekly fountain water show, called Les Grandes Eaux Musicales, which is accompanied by classical music and costs 8 ($13) for adults and 6 ($960) for students, children 17 and under, and people with disabilities Also in summer, special nighttime displays of fireworks and illuminated fountains take place, usually on Sundays for 19 ($30) and 15 ($24) For more information on the summer spectacles, visit wwwchateauversailles-spectaclesfr You can buy your tickets online at wwwchateauversaillesfr; e-ticket holders can use a special express line and skip the long wait for tickets You can also buy a Forfait Loisirs Chateau de Versailles pass at any French national rail station (Gare Montparnasse, Gare du Nord, Gare de l Est, and so on) The pass provides round-trip transportation by RER and M tro to Versailles, queue-skipping entry to the chateau and the Grand and Petit Trianons and other attractions, as well as entry to evening musical spectacles (Les Grands Eaux Musicales) It costs 22 ($35) on weekdays, and 26 ($42) on weekends April through November Look for TRANSILIEN signs or ask personnel at the information booths in the train stations to direct you to the correct ticketing agent Five to nine guided visits are offered (a few are in French only, and the tour of the garden s groves runs only in summer) Standard tours of the ch teau book early; go directly to the information booth in the South Minister s wing of the palace upon your arrival to book a space If you re interested in a more in-depth and themed tour, call % 01-30-83-77-89 or visit wwwchateauversaillesfr to see what s scheduled Tours vary in price