The Hall of Mirrors is the largest and perhaps the most famous of Versailles’s 700 rooms. It looks magnificent today, but would have been stunning when constructed in the late seventeenth century. Mirrors were then fantastically difficult to make – and hugely expensive. In fact, France had to persuade skilled Venetian mirror makers to teach them the secrets (and Venice tried to assassinate their traitorous artisans).

The hall has 357 mirrors, filling a space 220 ft long. It was used by courtiers as a place to meet people or to pass through the palace. On special occasions, it would be used to impress visiting dignitaries such as ambassadors or foreign leaders. Queen Marie-Antoinette had her wedding party in the hall, and it was also the site of some historic agreements: Count Otto von Bismark’s proclamation of the German Empire and the Versailles Treaty that ended WWI.

In 2007, a three-year comprehensive renovation of the hall was completed, replacing 48 broken or cloudy mirrors with old mirrors from the French Senate. Others had been replaced in the nineteenth century, but around 60 per cent of the mirrors we see today are originals. Two of the mirrors even have old graffiti on them. Who was “Emma 1842”?

Versailles opening times

1 April to 31 October

Palace
9.00am-6.30pm every day except Monday and 1 May
Last admission: 6.00pm – ticket office closes at 5.50pm

Coach gallery
12.30pm-6.30pm every day except Monday and 1 May
Last admission: 5.45pm

Trianon Palaces and Marie-Antoinette's estate
12.00pm-6.30pm every day except Monday
Last admission: 6.00pm – ticket office closes at 5.50 pm

Garden
8.00am-8.30pm every day
Exceptions: garden closes at 5.30pm on Saturdays with Fountains Night Shows, 30 May, 15-17 June, 7-8 July, and 30 October 2016. Also at 6.30pm on 14-15 July 2016.)

Park
7.00am-8.30pm every day

From 1 November to 31 March

Palace
Every day except Mondays
9.00am-5.30pm
Last admission: 5.00pm – ticket office closes at 4.50 pm

Coach gallery
12.30pm-5.30pm every day except Monday, 1 January and 25 December
Last admission: 4.45 pm

Trianon Palaces and Marie-Antoinette's estate
12.00pm-5.30pm very day except Monday
Last admission: 5.00pm - ticket office closes at 4.50 pm

Garden and park
8.00am-6.00pm every day

About Versailles

The Palace of Versailles was built by king Louis XIII in 1623 as a hunting lodge but enlarged by Louis XIV to become his royal palace away from the center of Paris. The French Revolution forced Louis to leave the palace in 1789 and it became a notable museum of French culture, as well as a place of historic announcements or treaties.

Today, Versailles offers the visitor a variety of attractions. The Palace is where you’ll find the Hall of Mirrors, the royal apartments and some amazing collections of art, furniture, chandeliers and architecture. The Grand Trianon is a smaller palace made of pink marble and porphyry with its own geometric gardens and exquisite décor. Napoleon Bonaparte stayed here often and refurbished it.

The famous gardens are an attraction in their own right and took over 40 years to create, involving regiments of soldiers to move earth and create landscapes. Statues and fountains decorate the gardens and are the focus of night-time light shows during the summer months.

Marie-Antoinette’s Estate was built especially for the queen, who liked to get away from the grandeur of the palace for a simpler, more rural ambience. The estate consists of the Pettit Trianon, where she lived, the hamlet, and the queen’s personal gardens. This is a palace within the palace of Versailles and a real treat.

Address

Château de Versailles , Place d'Armes - 78000 Versailles

Getting there

By train:

SNCF Trains
Depart Paris Montparnasse, arrive at Versailles Chantiers
Depart Paris Saint Lazare, arrive Versailles Rive Droite

RER C
Versailles Château Rive Gauche station (buy a pass for Navigo, Mobilis or Paris Visit, including zones 1-4 from Paris). T+ ticket is not valid
RER C line is closed 16 July-27 August between Paris Austerlitz and Javel Reach Javel by Metro

By Metro:

Line 10 from Paris Austerlitz and Saint-Michel Notre Dame (station: Cluny – La Sorbonne)

By car:

A13 motorway, exit at Versailles Centre. Paid parking at the Place d’Armes, Allée de Bailly, Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon