Your LivTours’ Private Versailles Tour | Royal Palace & Gardens Golf Cart Tour begins when you meet your private expert guide just in front of the main entrance into Versailles. You will start by touring the vast gardens in a comfortable four-seat golf cart. Using a golf cart, allows you to fully appreciate all of the major garden attractions in a shorter time, giving you more time inside to admire the amazingly ornate rooms. Your guide will make sure you get to see all the highlights in the gardens and if your timing is right, you might catch the seasonal water show at the garden’s central fountains.
Once you are finished exploring the gardens, your guide will lead you past the long lines and into the Palace. Hosting 2300 rooms in total, the most famous is said to be the 240 foot-long Galerie des Glaces, The Hall of Mirrors. Your guide will take you back in time as they describe what life was like in the 17th century when visitors saw themselves in a full-length mirror for the first time. Mirrors were expensive and rare, so to have one room filled with more than three hundred was a way for Louis VX to show his wealth and power. This hall has hosted many important moments in history, including the signing of the Treaty of Versailles after WWI.
Next it is on to see the 18th century Royal Chapel, one of five churches on the Versailles estate. An interesting mix of architectural influences, it is best known for its colorful ceiling paintings and its historic organ. From there you will leave the religious world behind and move on to the opulent State Apartment, or offices of the king, where royalty would meet with important members of society and politics on a daily basis.
You will get a chance to see the areas of the Palace in a more intimate setting having reserved the best available time to visit. Your guide will share with you the fascinating stories about the hundreds of servants who would scramble to attend the king and queen’s every need, including taking off their clothes and accompanying them to the toilet. You will gain a greater appreciation for Marie Antoinette’s profound influence on the evolution of French fashion when viewing the queen’s private chambers.