Palace of Versailles: Discover Pomp, Splendour – and 5 Secrets

Here are 5 secrets hidden within France’s famous Versailles palace! At the beginning of the 17th century, the palace was just a small hunting lodge in the forest. But then came Louis XIV. The so-called Sun King transformed it into a fairytale palace.
Today, it attracts millions of visitors. We show you 5 things that you might not know yet about the Palace of Versailles.

00:00 Intro
00:24 Practical information for your visit
01:10 Secret #1 – a secret door
02:22 Secret #2 – hygiene at Versailles Palace
03:34 Secret #3 – a hidden office for secret diplomacy
04:16 Secret #4 – a private library
05:00 Secret #5 – a hidden room for chemical experiments

CREDITS:
Report: Christine Lebert))
Camera: Basile Bonne
Editing: Klaus Hellmig
Supervising editor: Elisabeth Yorck
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Pomp and splendor, but no toilets. Or were there? Walls with secret
doors and many mistresses. Here’s what you might not have
known about the Palace of Versailles, the most famous palace in France. Here are 5 secrets about the
residence of the so-called Sun King Louis XIV. Versailles Palace is located around
20 kilometres southwest of Paris. You can get there
by car, train or bus. The route leads
directly to the main entrance. Admission costs €21 and it’s open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM. Every year, several million visitors
come from all over the world to see this palace. But today it’s closed to the public,
so we have it almost all to ourselves. Let’s meet our first expert. In addition to the famous kings, mistresses also played
an important role at court. One of the most famous
was Madame Du Barry, the mistress of King Louis XV. She resided in these luxurious
chambers in the palace and even had a bathroom with hot water,
a luxury at the time. Her apartment was furnished with
precious porcelain and sumptuous furniture and was large,
almost 350 m². Time for secret number one. Our next expert awaits us here. Our second secret
is related to a basic human need. After all, even the most
distinguished members of society must relieve themselves. But toilets as we know them today
didn’t exist in the 18th century. Under Louis XVI, there
was even a toilet in the palace. Secret number three is all about business. The “Cabinet des Dépêches”
was the hidden office where Louis XV read reports and
wrote confidential messages. You reach the fourth secret
place via winding corridors and several staircases. This is Louis the XVI’s
first private library, where he could read undisturbed. Now it’s time for secret number 5. In addition to literature,
Louis XVI had another passion: chemistry. He liked to carry out experiments
in a small hidden room that only his closest confidence knew about. The Palace of Versailles certainly
holds many secrets waiting to be revealed, but one thing is certain: a visit to this gem is sure to be a highlight of any trip to France.