Accompanying persons’ programme
| Wednesday, May, 09 | Thursday, May, 10 | Friday, May, 11 | Saturday May, 12 and Sunday May, 13 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| morning |
V2 Walking tour of « Le Quartier Saint Louis Included in Ac. Pers. Fee |
V4 Academy of equestrian Arts |
V5 Versailles Château, its hamlet and its Trianons |
F1 The Loire River and its Châteaux Post Congress Tour |
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| afternoon | V1 The Royal Kitchen Garden |
V3 Walking tour of « Le Quartier Notre Dame » Included in Ac. Pers. Fee |
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Once upon a time in Versailles
With the intimate setting of its pavillion and the splendour of its Château, its palace of the Sun and the Château de la France, Versailles is truly a long love-story. Four reminders of past glory, and a century in the building: Louis XIII chose Versailles because of its passion for hunting, Louis XIV fashioned it in the image of his own grandeur, Louis XV added the touches of elegance, Marie-Antoinette the sparkle of her youthfulness.
Versailles is the ultimate setting for France’s former absolute monarchy, its glories and its entertainment.
All tours will be conducted in English. Most of the tours depart and return from and to the Palais des Congrès. Full day excursions include lunch. The organizers reserve the right to cancel tours with less than 15 participants.
HALF DAY TOURS
V1 - The Royal Kitchen Garden
At the request of Louis XIV, Jean Baptiste La Quintinie, director of fruit and vegetable gardens for the royal residences, designed the Royal Kitchen Garden in the years 1678 to 1683. The 3 hectares of the great central square is divided into 16 smaller squares radiating out from a pond. At the centre of each of these, and surrounded by espalier-trained fruit trees, are rings of vegetables. From the two terraces, visitors have a ring-side view of the site where the gardeners tend the arrangements of fruit and vegetables. Strolling around you will discover twenty-nine walled gardens and their collections of fruit trees on which the gardeners lavish their expertise. With their remarkable skills in the art of prunning, they train the climbing branches of the trees to grow on espaliers or without support.
Price per person: 35 € - VAT included
Wednesday, May, 09 – 14:00 -15:30
V2 - Walking tour of « Le Quartier Saint Louis
At the beginning of the XVIIIth century, the "New Town " of Versailles was achieved and could not be extended any more.
A second town, completely pulled off from the 1st one, was going to be erected on the spot of the ancient "Parc aux Cerfs" (park of stags) of Louis XIII. It's the Saint Louis area. Its ground, divided into plots like a draughtboard, spreads itself out around its magnificent cathedral and its picturesque squares.
Included in the Accompanying Person fee
Price per person (extra ticket): 30 € - VAT included
Thursday, May, 10 – 10:00-11:30
V3 - Walking tour of « Le Quartier Notre Dame »
The ancient "new Town" of Louis XIV enables you to have a pleasant walk through its old cobbled streets or along the stals of its famous food market. For the first time you could see the “trilogy” : a street crossed by an octogonal square leading to a church, model which has been used in the whole world. Area of antiquaries and ancient parish of the king, Notre-Dame is still the heart of Versailles.
Included in the Accompanying Person fee
Price per person (extra ticket): 30 € - VAT included
Thursday, May, 10 – 14:30-16:30
V4 - Academy of equestrian Arts
Opposite the Château de Versailles, two buildings remarkable for their rich architectural style and sculpted decor were once the home at the XVIIIth century’s most prestigious cavalry. Now, during the “Matinales des Ecuyers”, visitors can observe the spectacle of dressage and then visit the Foyer Nuno Oliveira and the historic stables.
Price per person: 35 € - VAT included
Friday, May, 11 – 10:00 -11:45
FULL DAY TOUR
V5 - Versailles Chateau, its hamlet and its Trianons
Surrounded by its 950 hectares of parkland, the Château de Versailles is a masterpiece of XVII th century French art and architecture created at the behest of Louis XIV. Out of the former hunting lodge of his father Louis XIII, the Château was embellished with new apartments, the Hall of Mirrors and the King’s Opera House. “Constructed of marble and porphyry, with delectable gardens” , the Grand Trianon was a place of relaxation for king and the royal family, away from all the ceremony of Versailles! The Petit Trianon was built in 1760 for Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour, and in Marie-Antoinette’s time it was further embellished with the addition of a landscaped park and the famous Queen’s Hamlet, the Hameau de la Reine. The visit of the Trianons and of the Hamlet will be in the morning; lunch will take place at the restaurant located in the Park. The afternoon will be dedicated to the visit of the main palace and its French former gardens designed by Lenotre between 1661 and 1700 recognized all over the world as a model of the formal French style garden. Transportation by Toy train into the Park and quite a bit of walking .
Price per person: 104 € lunch included
Friday, May, 11 – 09:00-16:30
POST CONGRESS TOUR
F1 - The Loire River and its Châteaux
Saturday: We leave Versailles at 02:00 pm for a coach trip to the LOIRE VALLEY, escorted by a professional guide. Our first visit will be the Château of BLOIS. It is certainly the finest example of the royal architecture from the 13th to the 17th centuries in the Loire Valley. Driving along the Loire River, we will reach TOURS. Walking tour of the old quarters of the Loire's capital with the XVth century half‑ timbered houses and others dating back the Renaissance period around Place Plumereau and the Hotel Gouin. Dinner and overnight at Tours.
Sunday: Buffet style breakfast in the hotel. Our morning, begins with the visit of the famous gardens of VILLANDRY composed of three pattern terraces: The water garden, the ornamental garden and the kitchen one. We certainly won’t leave without admiring the most incredible one: The garden of love! We go on with the visit of the CHATEAU DE CHENONCEAU. Offered by King Henri II to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers and then decorated by Quenn Catherine de Medicis, the chateau de Chenonceau was built like a bridge over the river CHER. The Great Gallery and the Queen's Chamber have been restored and furnished with XVIth century chests and cabinets. Lunch in The Orangery of the Chateau transformed as a restaurant. Chambord will be our last stop before returning to Paris early evening. It is the second largest château of France after Versailles and its beautiful forest is still inhabited by wild animals.
Price per person: in a double room: 365€. (Accommodation in a first class hotel). Supplement for single room: + 70€
Saturday May, 12 and Sunday May, 13.