The Chateau de Versailles is one of the largest palaces in the world. Versailles has more than 700 rooms, 1250 fireplaces, 2,000 windows, 67 staircases and a 1,800 acres of park for you to explore. The best Italian and French artists of the time were commissioned to provide paintings, tapestries, and sculptures.

The 'Carte Musees et Monuments' is a great buy if you are planning on visiting at least four or five museums or sights and it also lets you bypass long ticket queus. You can buy a two day, four day or six day card and yes, the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Musee Picasso, Versailles, Centre Pompidou, and Arc de Triomphe and a further 54 attractions are all included

You can buy it at any of these attractions, the tourist office, or any Metro station. Just write your name and the date on the pass to activate it. Unlike London where a lot of the museums and galleries are free visiting attractions in Paris can be expensive. If you plan to visit more than four during your trip then the card will save you money.

From 1661 the young King Louis XIV had his architects rebuild the early Versailles royal residence. In 1682, the Chateau de Versailles became the official residence of the Sun King and his Court , replacing the Louvre and Saint-Germain Castles. Versailles' fabulous gardens and park are almost as spectacular as the palace. Le Notre designed this Versailles garden including fountains, jets, waterfalls, statues, water parterres, formal gardens, Grand Perspective and Grand Canal, to set off the palace's architecture.

It gets very very crowded so be prepared! Go early because the line of visitors gets incredibly long. Versailles is located about 20 km west of Paris. Just take a 30-minute ride on the RER train, Line C, to Versailles Rive Gauche Station, the last stop on the line. This station brings you within a 10 minute walk of the famous Chateau of Versailles and the Hotel de Ville. In Versailles, turn right as you exit from the train station and then left on Avenue de Paris. This will take you all the way up to the main entrance.

Try to allow an entire day for your visit because once you have finished touring around the palace of Versailles, you can head over to the gardens for a nice picnic before visiting the Grand and Petit Trianon and walking over to Marie-Antoinette's hamlet.

If you buy an RER/Versailles combo pass that includes a return train ticket and quick access to all the Versailles buildings. The advantages of this ticket is there is no need to wait in line when you get there. You also get an audio-guide for the visit of the Palace. You can buy this pass at the information booth located in the RER station. It is a really good deal if you plan on visiting the entire estate.

If you have not purchased the RER/Versailles combo pass before walking up to the entrance to Versailles stop at the Gift Shop where they sell the tickets to get in. Buy them there. Then just go to the ticket holders entrance and give them your ticket. If you decide to get the tickets at the palace entrance be prepared to wait a long time in line no matter what the season.

On any given day, over 20,000 people could be walking the grounds around the palace. The Sun Kin Louis XIV quickly realized that he needed a place to go to escape from Versailles life. In 1687, the Grand Trianon was built for the king and his immediate family. Although it is much smaller than the palace, it is just as elegant.

In 1768, the Petit Trianon had been built earlier by Louis XV. It was meant to be a gift to the king's favorite, Madame de Pompadour; however, she died before its completion. Louis XVI offered it to his queen Marie-Antoinette. She loved this 'little country house'. Nearby the King built the "Queen's hamlet". The hamlet was basically a small country village, complete with a farm where Marie-Antoinette would milk her cows and enjoy the quiet country life with children. It was built in 1783

The palace gets very crowded so it's quite nice to escape to other parts of the estate. There are a few snack bars in the gardens where you can buy a baguette at a fairly reasonable price considering where you are, and nothing beats lying down by the Grand Canal after walking throughout the gardens. If you don't feel like walking it's possible to rent bikes, hop on the little train, or even rent a paddle boat to go on the canal, but all of these are rather expensive. So just make sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and you're good to go! The park and the gardens open every day except in bad weather from 7 a.m. in summer, 8 a.m. in winter, until sunset.

If you go to Versaille on a Sunday a short walk from the palace into the town you will find a market. There were stalls which sold nothing but lots of different types of mushrooms, There were also stalls selling all the different types of cheeses and others selling sausages and pate. When we bought something and they found out we were English they put extra goodies in our bag for nothing. I got some sausage and some fruit extra. I was really please with how nice and friendly they were compared to when we in the heart of Paris where the people seemed very rude and unfriendly.

On the way down to the market place there were also lots of little shops like teddy-bear shops and antique. Walk straight down to the bottom of the huge palace car park where the brasseries are located and follow the road behind them. Turn right down a street where there are grocery shops and go down a side street.

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