You know that place...Versailles

The best thing about Europe is how easily one single train can take you from one big city to a little town. How with one train you can change scenery in just a couple of hours. City escapes are amazing because when you need to leave the hustle and bustle a train transports you to a world with tranquility and a change of pace.

This weekend we took a train like those to Versailles, now although that isn’t the biggest trip or escapade it was enough to get a day trip and a refreshing change. The train ride was 30-40 minutes long…depends how good your music playlist is. We took a train straight from St. Michel in Paris all the way to the Gare in Versailles.

We got very lucky because it was a gorgeous day both in Paris and in Versailles, sun was out, wind was gone, and the heat…was pretty real. I say this because one would think a Château as big as the Château of Versailles would feel pretty roomy or open, wrong, try being a in a place squished with a few thousand other people…how’s the air flow now? Tourists fill the halls and rooms of the Château and that can get a little overwhelming, for a future trip…try getting there early morning.

Kath and I pictured the life of the royals who walked the same halls we were walking, we imagined all the conversations that people would have, all the secrets shared in the tea rooms, all the good and bad news that were carried throughout the immense walls of the place. Like any little girl we pictured what we would’ve looked like being princesses in that castle..who wouldn’t want to wear Marie Antoinette’s clothes.

Shifting points I have a few tips for anyone planning on going. First off pack your walking shoes, the walk from the station to the chateau is like seeing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow…it takes a while to get there.

Once there remember to be a student, or a European citizen (younger than 26), you’ll need to prove it at the door though. Inside you will naturally want to see every corner of the Chateau, keep walking with the flow of people but prepare to have a few tourists in every picture of a room or painting you plan to take haha.

Based on my previous experienced in Versailles I reached the conclusion that yes, the castle is gorgeous, but the gardens are by far my favorite part. Save your appetite for that part of the tour, not only will you build your hunger making your way to the restaurants and the cafes but also the scenery is gorgeous. You can sit in a cafe, have a crepe or a steak-frites, some vino and take in the view of the royals.

The Grand Canal splits the gardens right through the middle to one side you can get to all the external housing—Marie Antoinette’s “little” garden home, The Grand Trianon (another side home in the gardens to escape the rough Château life) and finally the labyrinth which is a basic description of the gardens when you stop following the lakeside.

To add a cherry on top—literally—after lunch stroll your way to one of the little ice cream stands, all the locals come to the lake and sit with their picnic or spend the day with their family there. We got ice cream near the cafe we ate and we just decided to walk around and catch the sunset as we took one last look at what this place had to offer. If I could plan ahead I would definitely bring my picnic and sit by the lake and enjoy a day in those gardens, the air and the feel of being in this place brings you a sense of peace.

Take a good look around, because if you thought the castle was well kept, the gardens make you feel like your in the set of some movie where everything is placed perfectly. This place is a must if you come to Paris, you will enjoy it regardless of what you’re looking for.