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Versailles

France

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Overview of Southern Parterre gardens at Versailles.

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Overview

Louis XIV transformed his father’s hunting lodge into the monumental Château de Versailles in the mid-17th century, and it remains France’s most famous and grand palace. Situated in the leafy, bourgeois suburb of Versailles, 22km southwest of central Paris, the baroque château was the kingdom’s political capital and the seat of the royal court from 1682 up until the fateful events of 1789 when revolutionaries massacred the palace guard. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were ultimately dragged back to Paris, where they were ingloriously guillotined.

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Cultural Pillars of Paris and the French Countryside

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  1. 1Cruising through Paris on a scenic, sightseeing boat tour that winds up and down the Seine River
  2. 2Shopping at Parisian neighborhood markets and cooking French fare with a local chef
  3. 3Basking in the cultural charm of Mantes-la-Jolie and Pont-Audemer in the French countryside
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