Gardens at Trianon

Think of Marie Antoinette
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The Trianon and Petit Trianon which were the private palaces of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette are a nice contrast to the main Palace because they are more human scale, but the real delight for me was the English Garden which was part of Marie Antoinette’s domain. Apparently a botanical garden was designed and built there in the 1750s prior to construction of the Trianons, and there are trees which date back to the original planting of the garden. The garden is a pleasant place but I suppose the real impact of it is the contrast between this rather wild and unkempt spot and the rest of the Versailles garden which is so very symmetrical and formal. The paths are meandering and at times rather steep, and I had difficulty conjuring up the image of Marie Antoinette walking around the place, but according to the information provided, it was one of her favourite spots. It was quite a long walk from these gardens back to the railway station – I think I should have heeded Mary’s suggestion that I use the mini train which takes you to these outlying features.

I had difficulty conjuring up the image of Marie Antoinette walking around the place