We made our way to Versailles

Chris Brown

We went via a couple of Aires; the first one in Toul. They've recently moved the Aire to the Rue de Cimetiere, but don't be put off by the address, there wasn't a grave stone in sight! It's new, well set up with electricity. The town itself is fortified with ramparts and a moat and easily accessed down a short path and through an underpass (under the old walls). It has an impressive church, the Hotel de Ville is an attractive 18thC (I think) building, there are some interesting building facades and a museum. The next stop was Mareil sur Ay. The Aire is by the canal which has a fair sized Marina, but there is one restaurant which has one choice on the menu, and not much else. There are more interesting places to stay.

And then – VERSAILLES. After booking in the campsite at 2pm (and there's another story!), we headed off on foot – about 2 miles across town. The Avenue de Paris is a wide boulevard flanked with some beautiful buildings, but the first sight of the Chateau is impressive. We arrived about 3.30pm and got through security quite easily, then walked up to what I thought was quite a long queue for the Chateau. However, they dealt with access very quickly and we were soon inside and the queue did give us the opportunity of studying the façade with all its gilding.
        I have to say the initial rooms were quite disappointing until you realised they were there to provide interest for all those horrendous queues we kept hearing about – videos giving information on various aspects of the building and its restoration. I was quite amazed it wasn't wrecked during the revolution but apparently, although the furniture was sold and the paintings sent to the Louvre, the building itself was undamaged, just locked up and left (albeit to decay).

Once you get to the first floor and the 'State' apartments you can then appreciate the sumptuous décor and furnishing, and although I've seen the Hall of Mirrors many times in books and on TV, nothing quite lives up to seeing it 'for real'. We were fortunate in that there were not so many people about so we got the full impact of the light from the chandeliers bouncing off the mirrors which also reflected the gold statues and we found it stunning. But there's more…
        Having bought a 2 day passport on line before we left the UK, we returned on Thursday morning to be confronted by queues – miles long...... But while we were waiting to get through security, the lady who had checked our bags the afternoon before came over and asked to see our tickets and sent us around the side of the Chateau to the Chapel entrance and we were straight in! Wasn't that nice of her?
        So, Thursday was to explore the Mesdames Apartments, the gardens with their parterres, fountains; Apollos fountain is wonderful with the horses coming out of the water, the canal and groves. There's even an outside Ballroom. Then on to the Trianons (Grand et Petit) and Marie Antoinette's Estate. Most girls make do with a dolls house – she had a whole estate, life sized! It was about 3.30pm when we came out of the gardens and the queues were even longer than they had been in the morning, so all the horror stories we'd heard about the queues are true. So, if you're planning a trip to Versailles – try a Wednesday and use the side gate.