I recently spent a day touring Paris and Versailles as an excursion with my Viking River Cruise, which included an excursion at every port along our Zurich to Paris itinerary, one of the cruise line’s many European offerings.
That day, I spent the morning on an excellent included tour of Paris’ highlights. The motor coach travels along the Champs-Élysées and past the Arc de Triomphe, commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 to commemorate his triumphs. We drove by the Louvre Museum and the Paris Town Hall.
We continued into the Latin Quarter and by Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Luxembourg Gardens, Musée d’Orsay, Place de la Concorde, and the recently restored Grand Palais and Petit Palais.
We stopped near Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower for our walking tour for additional views of the famous sites.
I visited the City of Light once before, and the combination of the two trips offered me a glimpse of the beauty of the nation’s capital.
Versailles
I decided to take an afternoon optional tour of Château de Versailles. Located just outside of Paris, The Palace was first a hunting lodge, then a seat of power, and finally, from the 19th century onwards, a museum.
Composed of the Palace, the Gardens, the Park, the Trianon estate, and several buildings in town, today the Estate of Versailles spreads over more than 1,977 acres.
From 1682, when King Louis XIV moved from Paris and lived in this Palace until the royal family had to return to the capital in 1789, the Court of Versailles was the center of power and is famous not only as an estate but as a symbol of absolute monarchy.
The Sun King’s grand creation during his reign included 2,300 rooms. Only a fraction of the rooms are open for viewing.
It’s busy the day I visit. Swarms of individual tourists and numerous tour groups make their way from room to room, trying to see their lavish surroundings. More than 15 million tourists visit every year.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site, with impressive artwork in glided frames, original furnishings, and elegant decor, is a feast of history and over-the-top luxury.
We enter the state apartments of the king, the Hercules Drawing Room with its magnificent painted ceiling, and the famed Hall of Mirrors—the glittering corridor of chandeliers and glass in which the Treaty of Versailles was signed, thus ending World War I and the chamber of Marie Antoinette. To me, the hall of mirrors, Marie Antoinette’s bedroom, and painting of her and her children were the highlights.
As if the Palace wasn’t enough, there are the parks and gardens, the Trianon Estate, and the Royal Stables.
It was a wonderful day in Paris and Versailles. Viking Cruises introduces its guests to the glory and history of the world, one river or ocean at a time.
Click here for more information on Viking River, Expedition, and Ocean Cruises.
As if the Palace wasn’t enough, there are the parks and gardens, the Trianon Estate, and the Royal Stables.
It was a wonderful day in Paris and Versailles. Viking Cruises introduces its guests to the glory and history of the world, one river or ocean at a time.
Click here for more information on Viking River, Expedition, and Ocean Cruises.
