Palace of Versailles

A royal château in Versailles, southwest of Paris. Built by Louis XIV to glorify the French monarchy, it housed the king, the court and the government from 1682 to 1789.

The Palace of Versailles stands in the town of Versailles, in the Yvelines department southwest of Paris. Louis XIV made it the showpiece of his reign, and from 6 May 1682 until 6 October 1789 the king, the court and the royal government lived there permanently, apart from the years of the Regency. It was also the principal residence of Louis XV and Louis XVI.

Regarded as a masterpiece of French classical architecture, the palace covers about 63,000 square metres and has some 2,300 rooms. Its park of 815 hectares includes formal gardens laid out by André Le Nôtre, the Grand and Petit Trianon and the Queen’s Hamlet. One of the most visited sites in Europe, it was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979.