VISITING PARIS SURROUNDINGS
VERSAILLES PALACE
Classified since 1979 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Versailles is the most visited palace in France and the largest with its 2,300 rooms. King Louis XIV in the 17th century wanted to make it the instrument of his power. As a great art lover, the king asked the most talented artists and craftsmen to build and decorate Versailles.
This palace is the perfect expression of French art in the 17th and 18th century. Located 20 km from Paris, the domain of Versailles covers 642 ha.
Two different visits are possible :
- 4 hours visit : The Grands Appartments of King and Queen, the Hall of Mirrors, etc. Then Continue the visit in the gardens designed by the greatest French landscape architect André Le Nôtre.Rate : €280
- Private domain of Queen Marie-Antoinette.
7-hour visit including the previous visit as well as the visit of the Grand Trianon (private residence of the Court) and Queen Marie Antoinette’s domain with her hamlet.
Rate : €490
Can be reached by train
Closed on Monday
FONTAINEBLEAU PALACE
World Heritage of UNESCO since 1981. Located in the middle of a vast forest, Fontainebleau was continuously the luxurious hunting lodge of the French monarchy from the 16th century to the 19th century. It was also one of Napoleon’s favourited residences. An exceptional palace with a wealth of furniture and paintings, it is a fascinating summary of art and history in France.
65 kilometres south of Paris.
Vehicle required
Closed on Tuesday
Duration : 5 hours.
Rate : €370
CHÂTEAU DE MALMAISON
Residence offered by the Emperor Napoleon 1st to his wife Josephine de Beauharnais in 1799. This mansion hosted the passionate love of the imperial couple. Napoleon 1st place of rest between his battles. Great political decisions were also taken there. This charming mansion has remained as Josephine left it with all its empire style furniture.
15 km west of Paris
Vehicle required
Closed on Tuesday
Duration : 4 hours
Rate : €370
MONET’S HOUSE IN GIVERNY
For more than forty years, until his death in 1926, Giverny was the Claude Monet Impressionist painter’s house. The artist lived there with his family and made his most beautiful paintings. The house is still as Monet left it when he died. Monet considered his garden as a painting and still today the garden remains flowered as original. In the second section of the garden you will see the pond of the water lilies and his Japanese bridge.
80 km north-west of Paris
Vehicle required
Closed from November 1st to March 24th
Duration : 5 hours from Paris.
Rate : €420
CHÂTEAU OF CHANTILLY
The chateau of Chantilly stands in the heart of one of the largest forests around Paris.
The estate consists of the castle with the Condé museum, its library of rare books and the horse museum in the stables.
It is the largest private collection of masterpieces in France which was collected by the Duke of Aumale and bequeathed to the French State after the death of all his children.
50 km north of Paris
Departure from Paris and vehicle required
Closed on Tuesday
Duration : 5 hours
Rate : €420
SAINT DENIS BASILICA
First Gothic cathedral in France and necropolis of the Kings of France since 639.
Extraordinary collection of 70 tombs that allow you to follow the evolution of sculpture in France and to better know the life of our kings.
5 km north of Paris and 45 minutes by train
Duration: about 3 hours.
Rate : €350
(Attached is the funerary monument of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette)
CHARTRES CATHEDRAL
The finest example of Gothic architecture in France with its unique set of stained glass windows from the 12th and 13th centuries.
The recent restoration revives the cathedral in its original condition when Chartres was the largest pilgrimage site of Christianity dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
Highly charged with esoteric symbols left by the
Stone cutters and masons you will feel here more than anywhere else the presence of the divine.
85 km south-west of Paris.
Departure from Paris and vehicle required.
Duration : about 5 hours.
Rate : €420
