Gardens of Versailles

Le Bassin d'Apollon (The Apollo Basin), also called the Fountain of Apollo or the Apollo Fountain, is a fountain in the Gardens of the Palace of Versailles, France. Charles Le Brun designed the centerpiece depicting the Greek god Apollo rising from the sea in a four-horse chariot. A pond was dug on the site of the fountain in 1639 called "The Pond of the Swans". When King Louis XIV had it enlarged in 1671, the pond's east–west orientation and the common association of the King with Apollo prompted Le Brun to suggest dedicating the site to Apollo. The dawn theme was popular at the time and appears on some painted ceilings in European palaces. The fountain was constructed between 1668 and 1671.

The Fresh pavilion, Fresh salon or Pavillon frais (in French) is a folly built for Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour by Ange-Jacques Gabriel in the French Garden of the Petit Trianon, in the grounds of the Château de Versailles. Built between 1751 and 1753, this new building on this small estate, desired by the King to get away from the constraints of the Court, faces the French pavilion and served as a summer dining room where guests could "take fresh air" and enjoy produce from the nearby kitchen garden. This one-room pavilion was designed as green architecture and is entirely covered with green trellis. It features a rectangular, symmetrical garden surrounded by arcades topped by basket-shaped vases, creating an architectural and horticultural harmony. Two small oval basins at the ends of the flowerbeds complete the decor. Abandoned to weathering and degradation during the French Revolution, the pavilion was razed in 1810 and the garden replaced by lawn. In the 1980s and again in 2010, thanks to sponsorship and after an archaeological campaign, it was entirely rebuilt on the original model, with the original garden design faithfully reproduced. Only the arcades have not yet been restored.

The Trianon de Porcelaine (French pronunciation: [tʁijanɔ̃ də pɔʁsəlɛn]; French for Porcelain Trianon) was a short-lived structure constructed near the Palace of Versailles, and is considered to be the first Chinoiserie building in Europe. It was built in 1670 on the former site of the village of Trianon which Louis XIV of France had acquired in the 1660s to enlarge the grounds of his expanding palace. The structure comprised five wood-framed pavilions, decorated with blue and white ceramic tiles, and surrounded by formal gardens with extravagant displays of perfumed flowers. The Trianon de Porcelaine was demolished in 1687 and replaced by the more permanent Grand Trianon, which was constructed from stone and so is sometimes known as the Trianon de Marbre (Marble Trianon).

The Grand Trianon (French pronunciation: [ɡʁɑ̃ tʁijanɔ̃]) is a French Baroque style château situated in the northwestern part of the Domain of Versailles in Versailles, France. It was built at the request of Louis XIV of France as a retreat for himself and his maîtresse-en-titre of the time, the Marquise de Montespan, and as a place where he and invited guests could take light meals (collations) away from the strict etiquette of the royal court. The Grand Trianon is set within its own park, which includes the Petit Trianon (a smaller château built in the 1760s, during the reign of Louis XV).

The Petit Trianon (French pronunciation: [pəti tʁijanɔ̃]; French for "small Trianon") is a Neoclassical style château located on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France. It was built between 1762 and 1768 during the reign of King Louis XV of France. The Petit Trianon was constructed within the park of a larger royal retreat known as the Grand Trianon.

The Théâtre de la Reine (Queen's Theater) ou Théâtre du Trianon (Trianon Theater) is a theater built for Queen Marie-Antoinette by the architect Richard Mique from June 1778 to July 1779. It is located in the grounds of the Petit Trianon, in the park of the Palace of Versailles, hidden between the tree tunnel of the French Garden and the tall trees of the Alpine Garden. The exterior of the building, which looks like an outbuilding, contrasts with the sophisticated decoration of its interior, which is adorned with blue silk and velvet and gilded sculptures, yet is all pretense. It was inaugurated in 1780, ten years after the opening of the "Grand Théâtre", as the Royal Opera of Versailles was then called. This small comedy hall was a secret place for the Queen, far from the court of Versailles and its torments. She herself came to play comedy, with a troupe reduced to her intimate entourage, in memory of her taste, since childhood, for theater and declamation. The authors in fashion were performed, some of them, such as Beaumarchais, were even forbidden at court. The stage, twice as large as the hall, as well as the machinery, complex and of the most modern, are the work of the machinist Boullet, of the Paris Opera. The theater was spared during the French Revolution, as it was considered worthless. Several queens and empresses, Marie-Louise, Marie-Amélie and Eugénie, appropriated the place in the course of the 19th century, which became a sort of women's privilege. It has been assigned to the museum, but is rarely visited and, after several restoration campaigns, has remained intact to this day, including its machinery, an almost unique example of the eighteenth century.

The Moberly–Jourdain incident (also the Ghosts of Petit Trianon or Versailles, French: les fantômes du Trianon / les fantômes de Versailles) is a claim of time travel and hauntings made by Charlotte Anne Moberly (1846–1937) and Eleanor Jourdain (1863–1924). In 1911, Moberly and Jourdain published a book entitled An Adventure under the names of "Elizabeth Morison" and "Frances Lamont". Their book describes a visit they made to the Petit Trianon, a small château in the grounds of the Palace of Versailles, where they claimed to have seen the gardens as they had been in the late eighteenth century, as well as ghosts, including Marie Antoinette and others. Their story caused a sensation and was subject to much ridicule.

Le Stand de Tir de Versailles (English: Versailles Shooting Stand) is a firing range located in Versailles, France in the Le Parc des Sports de Versailles (English: Versailles Sports Park). For the 1924 Summer Olympics in neighboring Paris, it hosted all of the sport shooting events except trap shooting which took place at Issy-les-Moulineaux, and the shooting portion of the modern pentathlon.

The Grand Canal de Versailles is the largest basin in the park of the Château de Versailles. Cross-shaped, it was built between 1667 and 1679, at the instigation of André Le Nôtre. Prior to this date, the park was closed by a gate and ended behind the Bassin des Cygnes.

The Palace of Versailles Research Centre (in French: Centre de recherche du château de Versailles - CRCV) is the first research centre established in a French palace. It originated as part of a French government project called "Digital Great Versailles" (in French, "Grand Versailles Numérique") to improve public access to the Palace of Versailles. It is located in the Jussieu pavilion, near the Grand Trianon and the Petit Trianon, on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles, which is in the Île-de-France region of France. The Centre serves as a resource to scholars and curators researching European court culture of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. For example, such research would seek to explore the sites and expressions of power, such as those represented at Versailles and in other European courts of the same era, and join researchers interested in this era. In addition to facilitating research, it also organises symposia and training activities such as seminars and summer schools. The websites of the Research Centre and of Grand Versailles Numérique are among those recommended by France's Ministry of Culture and Communication as "sites préférés."

The temple de l'Amour (English: Temple of Love) is a garden folly of the Château de Versailles, and more specifically, in the Petit Trianon part of it.

The labyrinth of Versailles was a hedge maze in the Gardens of Versailles with groups of fountains and sculptures depicting Aesop's fables. [1] André Le Nôtre initially planned a maze of unadorned paths in 1665, but in 1669, Charles Perrault advised Louis XIV to include thirty-nine fountains, each representing one of the fables of Aesop. [2] The work was carried out between 1672 and 1677. Water jets spurting from the animals mouths were conceived to give the impression of speech between the creatures. There was a plaque with a caption and a quatrain written by the poet Isaac de Benserade next to each fountain. A detailed description of the labyrinth, its fables and sculptures is given in Perrault's Labyrinte de Versailles, illustrated with engravings by Sébastien Leclerc. In 1778 Louis XVI had the labyrinth removed and replaced by an arboretum of exotic trees planted as an English-styled garden.