Trip to Paris – Chateau de Versailles

On our first full day in Paris we decided to visit Versailles. To make our visit to Paris more cost effective we decided to avoid tours and to use local public transportation when possible. For this trip we walked about 2 miles to the RER station (RER is a local train system in Paris) where we paid about 27 Euros for round trip tickets for 4 to Versailles and back. This is very reasonable compared to the ~50 Euros a per person for a bus tour.

We spent the whole day walking through the gardens, the Chateau, the Grand Trianon, and the Petit Trianon (Marie Antoinette’s private getaway). We all really liked this and Noah and David commented on the train ride back to Dresden that Versailles was their favorite trip.

The front gates to Chateau de Versailles (There is a Starbucks right outside the RER station in Versailles Rive Gauche, to Melissa and David's delight):

The gardens extend as far as the eye can see, we could have spent a lot more time walking around.

More gardens:

On our way to the Petit Trianon (Marie Antoinette's private getaway Chateau). David really wanted to see this and it was nice, had to walk through the garden a bit and we took only one wrong turn.

Looking back at the Chateau de Versailles:

Noah checking "how much further":

Melissa taking a break (deciding whether it is a goose or a gray duck):

In front of the Grand Trianon:

Stairway in the Petit Trianon (David thinking a piece of cake would be good):

The hall of mirrors in Versailles where the Treaty of Versailles was signed; ending World War I.

Noah on the Train ride back to Paris, still ready for more sights. Noah (and the rest of us) really liked the automated auto guides that you can rent. It really kept his interest as he could learn about the different things he saw.