Toshinobu Kubota

Review of European leisure France (le pa...

The pinnacle of French royalties displaying their ...

The pinnacle of French royalties displaying their wealth and power away from the Paris palace (now called the Louvre Museum). This place was constructed because Louie XIV felt the Paris Palace was too small for him, and he also did not want any Parisian protests to affect his getting around, so he began to expand this hunting lodge into his new palace. Opulence is not adequate enough to explain this place. Just to walk through all the wings and chambers, one can feel the grandure even today, imagine when this place was built?!?

The gardens are another highlight; it's so massive, people can easily get lost in there. Most tourists only walk around the fountains, and that's it, but remember, the gardens were built to show the power the "Sun King" has over his people. There were instances where peasants would get lost in the gardens for days, and they kept on walking with no end, they were tired and thirsty, only to find a golden statute of Louie XIV standing in the middle of a fountain, where the lost wonderer could get a few sips of water and ponder how can anyone build this statute in the middle of no where. This shows absolute power over his people, and the garden is a sign for that.
So if you come here, don't stop after you are done with the palace, and don't stop after the fountains, the garden is where you want to spend the most of your time.