Versailles
Versailles is excess on a scale that’s difficult to comprehend until you’re standing in the middle of it. What began as a royal hunting lodge was transformed into the enormous Palace of Versailles, most famously under Louis XIV — the Sun King — and became the centre of French royal power.
The palace is spectacular, but the scale of the entire estate is what really gets you. The lavish rooms, Hall of Mirrors, formal gardens, fountains and seemingly endless grounds make it very clear that subtlety wasn’t particularly high on the royal agenda.
Of course, knowing how things eventually worked out for the French monarchy adds another dimension to all that extravagance. It’s an extraordinary place to see in person and an equally extraordinary monument to just how far absolute power could go.
