Palais de Versailles

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Geo: 48.8023, 2.12982

It was an easy drive in the scorching heat towards Paris, with a slight detour into the centre on the search for Versailles (thanks strange Sat Nav settings!) Our exceptionally cheap hotel (40 euros) was functional and reminiscent of a small boat cabin. We just needed to sleep!
Big hint for when visiting Versailles - buy tickets in advance!! The queue was HUGE and so confusingly organised that you could easily spend 2hrs waiting in the wrong queue. I can think of worse places to queue though! The palace was as stunningly ornate as all the hype and well worth seeing even though its overall impact was severely spoilt by the horrific number of tourists (mainly Chinese!!) The gardens were a much more sedate and relaxing affair. In fact, next time I would only buy a ticket to the gardens. The fountains are turned on at set times. Personally, with the amount of money they're getting from entrance fees, I think they should be able to afford to keep them on all of the time. The gardens are immaculate. The piped Baroque music is atmospheric at first but after the first 5 times round of the 3 pieces becomes quite infuriating! Again, with the amount of money they're getting from entrance fees, I'm sure they could employ a live music group to play at intervals! Another annoyance was that you were not allowed on any of the grass - not great for a baby desperate to crawl! If you're daring enough to put a toe on the beautifully manicured blades, a guard rudely blows a whistle, not the most regal of behaviour!

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