Versailles, the sun of Yvelines

A royal weekend at Versailles for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games

Aux sources des Grandes Eaux de Versailles — Ville de Versailles - Drive Productions

Make the most of your stopover in Versailles during the 2024 Olympic Games to uncover all its secrets, discover and enjoy sporting activities of today and yesteryear, and soak up the heady, refined atmosphere that will transport you to another century.

Day 1: The Versailles estate

The Château

You’ve got a marathon ahead of you! First stop, the home of the Sun King, the Palace of Versailles, rediscover the history of its creation through your visit. Designed by Louis XIV’s architects as early as 1682, this UNESCO World Heritage Site still conforms to the town-planning rules of the time: no building in Versailles is taller than the Château. Inside, historical treasures await you, including the stunning King’s Chamber and the dazzling hall of mirrors.

The gardens

Then stroll through the Château’s gardens, where groves and fountains are revealed before you. The park and gardens of the Château were laid out by Le Nôtre under the orders of Louis XIV, and are built according to a rigorous, geometric architectural plan, typical of the French garden. Next comes the discovery of the groves, small gardens closed off by walls of greenery, veritable open-air salons hidden away in the woods, accessed via discreet paths. Adorned with fountains, vases and statues, they introduce an element of surprise or fantasy within the greater garden. The Musical Fountains Show, the gardens and groves are a visual and auditory delight.

A must is a stroll along the Grand Canal, from where the equestrian events of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games will take place, before a lunch break in a restaurant in the park or near the Château.

Marie-Antoinette’s estate

Then it’s off again for a leisurely discovery of Marie-Antoinette’s estate in Versailles.

Created for Marie-Antoinette and evoking refinement, femininity and a taste for nature, explore this magical place, often too little known to the public. During this verdant stroll, lift the curtain on the Queen’s Versailles, designed as a retreat from the pomp and etiquette of the Court, including the Petit and Grand Trianon the French Pavilion, the Belvedere and its Rock, the Queen’s hamlet and its farm.

A royal evening at Versailles

Dinner at a restaurant in Versailles, and…that’s not all!

Next are the Musical Fountains Shows: between June and September, as night falls, the royal garden of Louis XIV becomes a surprising visual and sound journey. To the rhythm of Baroque music, visitors discover vistas and groves illuminated and the sound of gushing water. A magical stroll rounded off by a magnificent fireworks display on the Grand Canal.

Les Grands appartements du Château de Versailles

Day 2 : Attractions from the royal city of Versailles

To unwind after your first day of walking, opt for an excursion with Trip’In Trott! This all-terrain guided tour experience invites you to discover the city of Versailles on…an electric scooter! Ideal not only for resting your feet, but also for testing your balance, improving your posture and tightening up your abs! Trip’In Trott offers several tour routes, in the park along the Grand Canal, where the equestrian events of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games are taking place, and also in the urban and modern Versailles and the historic Notre-Dame and Saint-Louis districts.

The Real Tennis Room

It’s to the latter that you’ll head, to discover the historic sport of ‘real tennis’. The forerunner of modern tennis, ‘real tennis’ was highly prized in the 17th century and was an integral part of young princes’ education. Built in 1686, the Real Tennis Room was first and foremost a place of entertainment for Louis XIV and his Court, before the deputies of the Third Estate and the Lower Clergy gathered there to take the famous oath of June 20, 1789.

The King’s Kitchen Garden

Then stroll through the Old Versailles district, the historic heart of the town, which has preserved a large number of monuments and town houses, before stopping off at the King’s Kitchen Garden in Versailles. And yes, it’s feeding time! The King’s Kitchen Garden is located on the grounds of the Château de Versailles, near the Swiss pond, “in a convenient situation for the King’s walks and enjoyment”. It is the home of the National School of Landscape Architecture. Spread over 9 hectares, it is divided into sixteen squares evenly distributed around a central basin, where countless varieties of fruit and vegetables are still grown today. Store on site.

The National Equestrian Academy of the Estate of Versailles

Finally, if you’ve booked tickets for the equestrian events at the Olympic Games in Versailles, it’s because you’re passionate about horses. If so, don’t hesitate, head for the National Equestrian Academy of the Estate of Versailles. Devised and created by Bartabas, the Academy opened its doors in February 2003 in the King’s Stables at the Château de Versailles (originally home to the 600 horses of the King’s Cavalry). A show and training venue, it welcomes riders from all over the world, whose methods focus on listening and patience, guided by the passion of Bartabas. Enter the intimacy of the equestrian show “La Voie de l’Ecuyère”, choreographed by Bartabas for the riders of the National Equestrian Academy of the Estate of Versailles. Lusitanian carousel, sorraïas with long reins, horse fencing and equestrian improvisation follow one another to the sound of music selected by Bartabas.

“La Voie de l’Écuyère” is followed by a visit to the Stables, completed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart in 1683 to house the King’s 600 or so horses, and restored for the Academy by Patrick Bouchain in 2003. Remarkable for their size and the nobility of their architecture, they now house around forty horses.