World Tourism / The Most Beautiful Botanical Gardens in the World / The Versailles Gardens

Versailles is the world’s most famous botanical garden . But still the term "garden" seems  too poor to show the grandeur and the splendor of the veritable landscape designed by the architect Andre Le Notre, the Sun King. But despite the controversial views and opinions, we have to mention that the ground floors of the remarkable gardens of Versailles, the spectacular fountains, the huge ponds  cruciform channel that features a length of about  1.8 km, give an incredible and unique overall. The gardens of Versailles cover around 800 hectares of land and the garden features over  200,000 trees. Annually , around 210,000 new species of flowers suply the spectacular beauty of the garden. The palace garden was founded during the reign of Louis XIV in 1661 and since then, new accessories, flowers, grass, statues, fountain, or  trees are added every year. The lovely garden  was designed by Andre Le Notre. Besides tastefully decorated lawns, beautiful flowerbeds and unique sculptures, another  important factor that contributed to the uniqueness of the Garden of Versailles are the notable wells that date back to the reign of Louis XIV. In 1979 the Versailles Gardens have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Gardens are visited of approximately 6 million tourists every year, being one of the most visited tourist attractions in France.

The Gardens of Versailles are recognized as the greatest achievement of André Le Nôtre, who has designed and formed them between 1661-1668. Before the French Revolution, the royal Versailles  gardens were much larger, comprising  a surface  of 8,000 hectares, beautifully surrounded by a fence that was 43 miles longer than the present peripheral boulevard. The formal gardens, carefully arranged and perfectly drawn, reflect the spirit of the age of Louis XIV. Each of the trees, shrub and grass surface, each fountain and pool, each statue - absolutely everything  in the garden is perfectly placed. The created image is that of a rational world, totally controlled. The nature has been subjugated and controlled, just to glorify the majesty of the king. The parks represent the wooded area, crossed by paths, decorated with flower beds and terraces.  Thousands of trees, shrubs and bushes were planted in the garden. Gardens and flower beds were planted in formal reasons. Majestic alleys were highlighted by symmetrical planting of trees on the edges. All these elements have been designed to reduce ordinary people in miniature and potentiate thus the king position. The Versailles Gardens reflect, like the palace splendor, the wonder of the nature beautifully organized by the human creativity.The Versailles were created as a significant centre of government for an absolute monarch, who was Louis XIV.There are included wonderful features, such as immense parterres, an orangery, famous fountains, rich bosquets.

While in Paris you should not miss to visit the marvelous gardens, one of the most wonderful complexes, that was ever founded. It is very interesting to admire the amazing arrangement of alleys, the buildings they contain, the statues and the fountains, all forming  a garden for all seasons with wonderful plants and trees.
In the east part of the gardens there is a great terrace formed by basins of water that seem to extend in front of the castle. This part of the garden was changed for several times until it received the final form, in 1685. This side of garden was designed by Charles Le Brun, so each pool was decorated with 4 statues symbolizing the rivers of France. Besides these statues  four nymphs were added.  The staircase leading to the Latona Basin is bordered by six statues, Day, Evening, Air, Sun, Water and Spring.

The gardens concentrated in the southern part of the palace can be seen perfectly from the huge terrace. At the foot of the terrace lies an immense fountain called Latona fountain, whose construction was inspired by Ovid's Metamorphosis. A central statue embodying the Latona and her children  was originally located facing the palace, nowadays it faces the Grand Canal. Steps leading to the Royal Avenue is flanked by 18 statues, each  side includes 9 statues. It is also called the green carpet strip of lawn in the middle because it is 335 meters long and 40 meters wide. At the end of the royal alley stands the statue and basin of Apollo made  of gilded lead. The statue was created between 1668 and 1670 of Tuby  who followed some sketches of Le Brun.

The garden itself, meaning a lot of vegetation and different species of plants is designed surrounding the Versailles Palace. There is also a central alley flanked by large bushes created. Nearby is the cave and the Phyramid of Tethys  which is equivalent  to Latona’s basin. The  Girardon  Pyramid was executed after a drawing by Le Brun, and its construction took 3 years. It comprises 4 floors made of marble supported by tritons and dolphins made of lead. These adorable gardens are a truly fantastic place, where to spend unforgettable moments, just walking around and admiring the scenic beauty. Enjoy some superb memories and interesting experiences when walking through the spectacular garden, delighting yourself with picturesque landscapes, that represent some treasured masterpieces created by the talented designers.

 

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Maps of The Versailles Gardens