The Palace of Versailles was built from 1661 by Louis XIV on the site of a hunting lodge, and served as the seat of French royal power from 1682 to 1789. It covers 800 hectares, has approximately 2,300 rooms, and receives over 8 million visitors a year. The Hall of Mirrors alone contains 357 mirrors and 20,000 candles. The original Honour Gate was destroyed during the French Revolution; the current gilded iron gate was installed in 2008.
The Palace of Versailles is one of those rare places where the stories behind the building are as extraordinary as the building itself. From the logistical challenges of supplying water to 50 fountains in the 17th century, to the rumours of assassination plots against the Venetian mirror-makers, Versailles rewards curiosity. Here are 20 of the most fascinating, surprising, and occasionally bizarre facts about this iconic palace.
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Versailles is not the world’s largest palace
Many visitors assume Versailles holds the record, but it doesn’t. The Forbidden City in Beijing covers approximately 728,000 square metres — larger than the Versailles palace building. However, the Versailles estate (palace + gardens + park) covers 800 hectares, making it the largest royal domain — the biggest total complex built for a royal family.
The estate began as a swamp
Before Louis XIII built his hunting lodge here in 1623, the land was largely marshland and forest. The name Versailles itself may come from the Latin versare (to turn the soil over and over), reflecting the transformation of this boggy ground into a palace. The drainage and landscaping required were extraordinary feats of 17th-century engineering.
The Honour Gate you see today is a 21st-century replica
The original gilded Honour Gate was destroyed during the French Revolution when revolutionary crowds stormed the palace. The current gate — equally spectacular, made of gilded wrought iron and decorated with 100,000 gold leaves — was inaugurated in 2008, over 200 years after the original was torn down.
The Hall of Mirrors has 357 mirrors and 20,000 candles
The 73-metre gallery contains 357 mirrors set into 17 arched windows. When fully lit with all 20,000 candles in its 357 chandeliers and candelabras, the effect was described by contemporaries as blinding. Today, electric lighting replicates the effect, but the mirrors still create the same disorienting sense of infinite space.
Venetian mirror-makers may have been assassinated
In the 17th century, Venice held a monopoly on mirror production. French glass was technically far inferior. Louis XIV lured Venetian artisans to France with promises of high salaries — and according to historical accounts, the Venetian government responded by sending agents to bring them back, by force or poison if necessary. The Hall of Mirrors was literally a state secret.
The fountains only worked when the king walked past
When the Versailles fountains were built, there were no rivers nearby to supply the volume of water needed. An elaborate system of ponds and aqueducts was created, but even this was insufficient to run all 50 fountains simultaneously. The solution: a system of whistles and signals meant the fountains were switched on only when Louis XIV approached — and turned off as soon as he passed.
The Grand Canal hosted a Venetian fleet
Louis XIV was gifted two gondolas and four gondoliers by Venice — a diplomatic gesture that led to the area near the canal’s boathouse being nicknamed “Petite Venise” (Little Venice). In winter, when the canal froze, the court held ice skating parties on its surface. In summer, Louis staged elaborate naval battles for the entertainment of the court.
The kitchens were on the wrong side of the palace
Despite the extraordinary planning that went into Versailles, the architects placed the royal kitchens on the opposite side of the palace from the dining rooms. No matter how many servants ran with the food, it always arrived cold. Louis XV — a genuine food enthusiast — eventually had a private kitchen installed in his own apartments to solve the problem.
Chamber pots were made of silver
The excess at Versailles extended even to night-time sanitation. The royal chamber pots were crafted from silver. In 1689, as Louis XIV’s wars drained the treasury, he ordered the silver furniture of Versailles — including the chamber pots — melted down to finance his military campaigns. The Hall of Mirrors once contained 150 pieces of solid silver furniture, all now gone.
The gardens were designed to follow the sun’s path
Louis XIV, the Sun King, did not choose the east-west orientation of the Versailles estate by accident. The grand garden axis runs from the palace’s eastern façade straight to the horizon in the west — precisely aligned with the path of the sun. Every morning, the sun rises behind the palace. Every evening, it sets over the Grand Canal. The entire estate is a monument to solar symbolism.
Royal births happened in public
Queens of France gave birth not in private, but in their official State Bedchamber, in front of witnesses. The room would fill with courtiers, officials, and members of the public who had been admitted to prove the legitimacy of the royal heir. Marie Antoinette reportedly fainted during her first public delivery due to the heat and crowding.
Marie Antoinette had secret rooms behind wooden panels
Behind the formal splendour of her State Apartments, Marie Antoinette had a series of intimate private rooms concealed behind wood panels and silk hangings. These spread across two floors and included a private library, boudoir, bathroom, and dressing room. Only her closest friends were admitted. Today, visitors can access these rooms as part of the palace tour.
The Treaty of Versailles was deliberately placed in the Hall of Mirrors
In 1871, following France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, Kaiser Wilhelm I was proclaimed Emperor of Germany in the Hall of Mirrors — one of the most humiliating moments in French history. On 28 June 1919, French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau chose the same room for Germany to sign the Treaty of Versailles, formally ending World War I. The symbolism was entirely intentional.
The gardens once made people physically ill
The 210,000 flowers and 200,000 trees of the Versailles gardens created an extraordinary mixture of natural perfumes — overpowering enough to cause nausea in some visitors. Historical accounts record that certain flowers were particularly offensive to some members of the court, including royal mistresses. The palace’s drainage problems added other, worse smells to the mix.
Trees are replanted every 100 years
The gardens of Versailles contain approximately 200,000 trees, and they are systematically replanted on a 100-year cycle to maintain the estate’s historic design. Louis XIV’s original trees have long since been replaced — but the planting plans of André Le Nôtre are followed precisely each time, keeping the 17th-century landscape alive.
Versailles has its own palace within a palace within a palace
The estate contains the main palace (Versailles), the Grand Trianon (Louis XIV’s marble retreat), the Petit Trianon (Marie Antoinette’s private palace), and the Hamlet (her own private farm village). Each was built as a private escape from the formality of the last — a Russian doll of royal residences, each more intimate than the one before.
The Royal Opera was inaugurated for a royal wedding
The Royal Opera at Versailles — one of the finest 18th-century concert halls in Europe — was inaugurated in 1770 specifically to celebrate the marriage of the future Louis XVI to Marie Antoinette of Austria. It remained unused for decades and is now occasionally used for classical concerts and ballet performances open to the public.
The palace has ended three major wars
The Treaty of Paris (1783) — recognising American independence from Britain — was signed here. In 1871, France accepted its defeat in the Franco-Prussian War at Versailles. And the Treaty of Versailles (1919) ended World War I. No other building in the world has hosted the conclusion of so many major conflicts.
The Versailles fountains only run on special days
Running all 50 fountains simultaneously requires an enormous volume of water — an engineering challenge that defeated Louis XIV and still requires careful management today. The fountains run only on Musical Fountains Show days (most Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from late March to late October) and on Night Fountains Show Saturdays. On other days, they stand silent.
A 21st-century campus is preserving the palace’s craft traditions
Since 2024, a new initiative called Campus Versailles has been established to teach the traditional arts and craftsmanship involved in building and restoring Versailles — gilding, ironwork, fresco painting, stonecutting, and more. Major restoration projects are ongoing throughout the estate, ensuring that the palace’s extraordinary interiors continue to be preserved for future generations.
