Versailles, the sun of Yvelines

The Petit Trianon

78000 Versailles

  • UNESCO World Heritage
  • Historic site and monument
Petit Trianon Extérieur
Château de Versailles, Thomas Garnier

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Jardin du Petit Trianon
Intérieur Petit Trianon
Temple de l'amour
Cabinet des Glaces Mouvantes
Chambre de la reine au Petit Trianon

Services and equipments

  • Parking

The Petit Trianon was built between 1763 and 1768 by the architect Gabriel, requested by Madame de Pompadour, mistress then friend of king Louis XV.

Mme de Pompadour was the former mistress of the king but still his friend. She was the instigator of this little palace, built by Gabriel from 1763 to 1768 near the botanical gardens and the new menagerie to entertain him with one of his passions : sciences. To please the Marchioness, always aware of the last trend, the architect changed his rocky aesthetics to adopt pure lines and cubic shape. It was the latest architectural style, called “the Greek style”.

It is not as simple as it looks like : each frontage is different, built to reply to its surrounding : the Courtyard, the French Garden and its lovely pavilion, the Botanical Garden and the Flower Garden.

Even inside we find a modern style. The decoration of the Small Trianon is more simple than the rest of the estate. It is not about materials, you will notice the absence of gold for example, but more about the fineness and elegance of the sculptures dedicate, like the palace, to nature.

Sadly, Mme de Pompadour died before the completion of the Palace in 1764. Nowadays it keeps the souvenir of an other inhabitant : Louis XVI made a gift of the Trianon Estate to his queen Marie-Antoinette in 1774. She lived there a distant life from the court, maybe too distant for some of the courtier.

In short

Categories

  • UNESCO World Heritage

Informations

How to get there?

Versailles, the sun of Yvelines

Château de Versailles

78000 Versailles

TRI bus from the Phébus company has a stop in front the Grand Trianon (10 minutes to access to the Petit Trianon). The bus serves the stations of Versailles Rive Gauche and Versailles Rive Droite.

  • Close to a motorway
  • Lakeside or by stretch of water
  • Close to a public transportation
  • Waterside
  • Bus stop < 500 m
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