They say that to understand a particular country, you need to visit its capital and its hinterland. To understand France, you should go to the former residence of the French kings in the modern city of Versailles. Created to glorify France during the reign of the Sun King, Louis XIV, the palace continues to impress with its size and richness. It is the largest palace in Europe, which harmoniously combines architectural monuments and landscape design, and the standard of European royal residences, surpassing all others: both in its luxurious appearance and in the number of important events that took place within its walls.

Previously, it was just a small hunting castle on the site of a modern marble courtyard. But then Louis XIII wanted to expand the possession of the medieval castle, and Louis XIV ordered to rebuild it and made it his permanent residence. Every year, the majestic Baroque palace got more and more buildings, and the boundaries of the delightful garden surpassed all the wildest expectations.

Today, the Palace of Versailles houses the collections of the palace history museum and the famous art gallery: the Hall of Battles, the Grand Trianon guest palace, and the residence of the king's favorites, the Petit Trianon (now the museum of Marie Antoinette). As a rule, tourists are especially amazed by the pompous interior of the palace. For example, by the famous Gallery of Mirrors, richly decorated with paintings and stucco, which connected the apartments of the king and queen. Although the cast silver furniture of the gallery was lost, the interior still impresses with its excessive luxury. The successive French kings also changed the palace. It was finally completed only in 1985 with the reconstruction of the facades from the courtyard side.