There’s only one excuse for visiting Versailles on a summer weekend: to see the fountains in action. It’s too expensive to run the fountains all the time, so they’re only on for a few hours a day on weekends from April through September. (Versailles also charges admission to the gardens on these days; otherwise, entry is free.) There’s also a soundtrack of Baroque music, played by Le Concert Spirituel.
While I had enjoyed the gardens on the occasion of my earlier visit, being able to see the fountains in action made it ever so much better.
A smattering of the fountains, starting with the Apollo fountain:
The fountain in the Bosquet of the Pyramid:
The Dragon basin:
The fountain in the Bosquet de la Girandole:
There were more people in the gardens this time (surprise, surprise), and the row boat rentals were open:
Pity they don’t have paddle boats, though, like the ones at Stow Lake.
Since I was there, though, I took advantage of the opportunity to visit the Dauphin’s apartments (which I hadn’t had time for before) and the apartments of Mesdames (which are open only on weekends), as well to spend a little more time in the gardens at the Petit Trianon:
KEEP ON BLOGIN’ john