When I was taking French classes in middle school the go-to video for when we had a substitute teacher was a documentary on the Chateau at Versailles. Seeing the same documentary five times a year did not make me want to go to Versailles anymore then I already did. Fortunately it did not dull my interest so six weeks into my stay in Paris I decided to check it out myself. Versailles (Vear-Sie) is about as close to Paris as Versailles (Ver-Sales) is to Lexington. I was accompanied on my excursion by a group of students from Chicago who were visiting Paris. The other students had museum passes that let them avoid the long line to buy tickets but since I did not I rode along with a friend of the students' teacher who drove ahead early to get her ticket.

As Versailles is very big (and incredibly takes up only a small percentage of the entire estate) it would be impossible to describe everything. The most striking feature is how ornate everything is. And I mean everything. Every wall, ceiling, fireplace, statue, whatever. If it was in the palace it looked as if an artist had spent months on it. It is easy to see why the French people rebelled against this type of extravagance using tax money.

Another very apparent aspect of Versailles is how perfect everything is. This is especially true in the gardens where everything is laid out in a very orderly way. From the upper palace windows one can see the perfect designs that the paths, trees, flowers, and fountains form. In one of the first rooms you enter as you go through the palace there is a miniature model of Versailles. Looking out the windows in the palace the gardens actually look very much like a large scale version of this model.

I found the palace historically and artistically interesting. But the overall experience at Versailles was a bit exhausting. Many of the rooms are crowded and it is very hard to stop for long and look at anything. There is a constant flow of people walking a little then taking pictures and then continuing. This makes it hard both to stop and to walk as you have to watch out for people stopping right in front of you.

The gardens on the other side are peaceful and quiet. I could have spent all day there especially if I had brought a pic-nic. They sell orange juice in the garden made from oranges grown on the estate. It was the most delicious orange juice I have ever had.

Overall, Versailles is definitely worth seeing. It is pretty incredible once you are there. But if you plan a visit it might be worth investigating the best times to go when it would be less crowded.