Inside the Palace of Versailles

Louis XIII built the first house at Versailles. He decided on a small hunting lodge in late 1623 and first used it in June 1624. A new palace by the architect Philibert Le Roy soon replaced the lodge. Read about who built the Palace of Versailles and when.

Louis XIV began major works in 1661. Louis Le Vau built the King's and Queen's State Apartments and the white stone front on the garden side. Charles Le Brun, Jules Hardouin-Mansart and André Le Nôtre also worked on the residence. In 1682 the king installed the Court and the government at Versailles.

The Palace stopped being a royal residence in 1789, when the Revolution forced Louis XVI to leave for Paris. King Louis-Philippe turned it into the Museum of the History of France in 1837. The Palace has been on the World Heritage list since 1979.

The Royal Chapel at the Palace of Versailles was completed in 1710. The Royal Opera opened on 16 May 1770 for the wedding feast of the Dauphin and the Archduchess Marie-Antoinette.

Today the Palace holds 2,300 rooms over 63,154 square metres. The museum's collection holds more than 6,000 paintings and 3,000 sculptures.

You can follow the Palace's route without a guide. The route highlights the Hall of Mirrors and State Apartments. The King's Bedroom and Royal Chapel also feature on it. Before your visit, read what you can take into the Palace.

The King's State Apartment is a line of 7 rooms. Look up in the Hercules Room. The ceiling by François Lemoyne was finished in 1736 and shows 142 figures.

In the Apollo Room a portrait of Louis XIV by Hyacinthe Rigaud hangs over the fireplace. It is a copy made in 1702. The original is in the Louvre.

The Hall of Mirrors comes at the end of the King's State Apartment. The King's Chamber is where Louis XIV died on 1 September 1715, after a reign of 72 years. In the Queen's Bedchamber 19 princes and princesses were born between 1682 and 1786.

You see the Royal Chapel from its entrance and royal gallery. The Gallery of Great Battles is 120 metres long and 13 metres wide. Your route depends on which rooms are open. See how big the Palace of Versailles is.

The King's Private Apartments are not on the route you follow without a guide. You see them only on a guided tour that includes them.

Rooms close for works. On 14 November 2026 the Palace's route page marked the Queen's Apartments and the Gallery of Great Battles as temporarily closed for major works, with no reopening date. A closed room gives no right to a refund.