The Petit Trianon’s English and French Gardens at Versailles
A Muskrat in Front of Le Petit Trianon
This week I’m taking you on a little journey to some of the farthest corners of the nearly 2,000 acre estate of Versailles. If it’s your first visit, then of course you want to explore the palace and the gardens along the grand canal first, but if it’s your second visit or you have more time and good walking shoes, I highly recommend heading for the Trianon Estate, which consists of two smaller palaces, English and French gardens, and the Hamlet of Marie Antoinette complete with farm animals. These are my favorite parts of the estate.
At the height of palace life under Louis XV there were so many people living at court that the king had the Grand and Petit Trianon built. These smaller palaces provided more privacy for the king in more intimate settings. Le Petit Trianon was famously built for Madame de Pompadour and later became the home of Marie Antoinette, wife of King Louis XVI. (If you like time travel and want a story about Madame de Pompadour, I recommend the Doctor Who episode, The Girl in the Fireplace.) It was Marie Antoinette who had the gardens around the Petit Trianon redesigned in the English-Oriental style, including a folly—the Love Monument—or Temple de l’Amour. Following the path from here will eventually take you to Marie Antoinette’s Hamlet.
The south side of the Petit Trianon looks out on the French Garden, which is especially beautiful in spring when the flowering bulbs have all bloomed. I happened upon it at the perfect moment when my parents came to visit at the end of April. French gardens don’t have as many flowers as their English counterparts, which is another reason I like this part of the estate so much.
If you’re coming by car the easiest and cheapest parking option is to drive in through the Queen’s Gate. You can drive straight to a special parking lot for the Trianon Estate and park for only 6 euros. This is also a good option if you plan to visit the château as you can walk from here or pay for a tram service to take you across the park.