The most gorgeous palaces in France: astonishing architecture, amazing gardens and parks. Mysterious stories, facts and secrets of Versailles, Trévarez, Louvre, Saumur and Vaux-le-Vicomte.
French palaces are more than just elegant architecture. They also hide many intriguing historical secrets, love stories and art treasuries. Let’s look at the most beautiful and entrancing among them.
Versailles and the ghost of Marie Antoinette
The brainchild and favorite residence of the “Sun King” Louis XIV was built according to his strict orders in the year 1661. The largest and most elegant palace ensemble in Europe. It has been considered the benchmark of architecture throughout the last four centuries. When Peter the Great saw Versailles he decided to build Peterhof.
He resolved to maintain the fine traditions he had witnessed in Versailles. Sanssouci in Potsdam and Schönbrunn in Vienna were also built with the inspiration of this royal palace in mind.
Historians decided to calculate the total cost of the Versailles palace. They were surprised to discover that the entire palace is worth 260 billion Euro! And virtually half of this total consisted solely of the combined value of all the ornate decorative finishes.
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