Les Grandes Eaux Musicales

On Saturdays each Spring and Summer Versailles goes back a few centuries and becomes more like it was in the days of the Sun King. The 46 fountains in the 21000 acres of gardens are turned on, the gardens are in bloom, and period music plays from speakers around the paths.
Danielle and I didn't want to miss this once-in a lifetime opportunity so yesterday we headed out to see.
Versailles was expanded from a hunting lodge in a swamp to this magnificent, and sometimes overly opulent, palace by Louis XIV to prove his power and wealth to other royalty and to the masses in France.The vast majority of the gardens and fountains were designed by Le Notre to help expand the palace's grandness. The gardens were actually designed to be an outdoor palace, with ballrooms, drawing rooms and other spaces for entertaining.
The Latona Fountain (below) illustrates the mother of Greek gods Diana and Apollo protecting her children.
Statues litter the garden and are mostly Greek and Roman in style. This is Danielle's new boyfriend. He's not particularly friendly. A little stony actually. hee hee
The Ballroom (below) is a circular garden. One half of the walls have this cascade on it. Standing there you could actually imagine people in huge skirts and high wigs dancing to candlelight and live string quartet.
The Fountains of Apollo's Chariot is one of the largest fountains at Versailles. It's right in front of the Grand Canal and next to Marie Antoinette's personal peasant village. Where she went to pretend she was a peasant with her perfumed and brushed sheep.
This fountain has some seriously somber music playing which makes sense, since it's of Enceladus, chief of the mythical Greek Titans, who is being punished by the gods from Mount Olympus.
This fountain is called the Dragon Fountain. Instead of breathing fire he's breathing water into the air.
The 10 minute finale uses so much water that all other fountains are turned off. The Neptune Fountain was a centerpiece of Versailles when it was used as a palace and everyone congregates there now at the end of the afternoon to witness the grand finale.


Overall a spectacular day! I felt very royal the entire time. If you're ever in Paris on a Saturday between April and October be sure to go check this out!!