The Trianon Estate of the Chateau de Versailles visitor guide
Visit The Trianon Estate of the Chateau de Versailles, Paris
The Trianon Estate is part of the vast estate of the Chateau de Versailles. It is located on the northern edge of the estate. The Chateau de Versailles is about eighteen kilometers west of the centre of Paris.
Explore the Trianon Estate of the Chateau de Versailles
France This Way review: The Trianon Estate has lovely flowery gardens and more intimate rooms than the Chateau de Versailles. It was our favourite part of the visit.
The Trianon Estate is made up of three key parts. The Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon and the Queens Hamlet.
The Grand Trianon is a palace built for Louis XIV in 1687 by Jules Hardouin-Mansart. The Petit Trianon was built nearly a century later for Louis XV by Ange-Jacques Gabriel.
The model village called the Queen's Hamlet was added by Queen Marie-Antoinette. It was built by Richard Mique in 1783.
Grand Trianon
The Grand Trianon, unlike most palaces of the time, is a single storey building. It has a pink marble peristyle made with marble from Languedoc and this opens out onto beautiful gardens.
The palace was built to give Louis XIV an escape from the rigours of life at court in the Chateau. He often went there for short breaks with his wife the Marquise de Maintenon.
Later Louis XV spent time there with the Marquise de Pompadour but it was neglected in the 18th century. In the early 19th century Napoleon began to use the palace and in 1810 he moved in with his wife.
Interestingly his wife was the great-niece of Marie-Antoinette.
After this King Louis-Philippe moved in and created a large family room and a bed chamber for his daughter.
Napoleon III turned the Grand Trianon into a museum and in 1963 General de Gaulle converted it into a presidential residence for receiving guests.
During its time it has hosted Queen Elizabeth II of the UK, King Hassan II of Morocco and President Jimmy Carter of the USA.
Inside the palace there are fifteen different rooms to see.
One of the most important rooms is the Mirror Room which was used as a council chamber where Louis XIV met his ministers. It has a lovely mirrored decor and overlooks the Grand Canal.
The Empress's Bedchamber used by Empress Marie-Louise contains a bed belonging to Napoleon I which was taken from the Tuileries Palace. King Louis XVII died in this bed in 1824.
The Malachite room, named for the green malachite pieces of decoration in the room given by the Tsar Alexander I of Russia to Napoleon I, is another important room.
The gardens of the Grand Trianon are French Formal Gardens as are those of Versailles but whilst both have parterres, ponds and fountains those of the Grand Trianon are also filled with an abundance of flowers such as dahlias, salvias and gaura which we thought made them more beautiful.
The Petit Trianon
The Petit Trianon was built in neo-Gothic style by Ange-Jacques Gabriel.
The Marquise de Pompadour had urged the king to build the Petit Trianon but she died before it was completed and the palace became home to the Countess Du Barry, the Kings mistress after the death of the Marquise de Pompadour.
In 1774 it became the private retreat of Marie-Antoinette, wife of Lous XVI.
Marie-Antoinette recreated the gardens in Anglo-Chinese style and spent much of her time here in the Petit Trianon with her children and closest friends.
After the Revolution the Petit Trianon was rented by an innkeeper, given to the sister of Napoleon I, used by Ferdinand, Duke of Orleans, became a museum and then completely restored in 2008.
Notable rooms in the Petit Trianon are the Main Dining Room with wood paneling with carved fruit and vegetables; the Antechamber with a portrait of Marie-Antoinette and the Queen's bedchamber.
The gardens feature the lovely French Garden with its colourful mixture of flowers including Hibiscus, Salvia, Verbena and Rudbeckia.
The French Pavilion and Cool Pavilion are in this part of the garden and a short walk away are the Grotto, the Belvedere and on the way to the large park is the Temple of Love.
Queen's Hamlet
The Queen's Hamlet was inspired by the half-timber houses of Normandy. It sits on the edge of the Great Lake and is made up of a number of buildings all designed to look rustic.
Each building has its own garden and these are all kitchen gardens or herb gardens in the case of the Dovecote garden.
Altogether in the gardens are 120 varieties of plants including vegetables, herbs and flowers.
There are also two orchards with apple, pear, plum and peach trees amongst others.
Attractions nearby
Obviously the Chateau de Versailles and Gardens of Versailles should definitely be visited whilst you are here. These can all be visited with a combined ticket for the Chateau and the Trianon estate.
Alternatively you can buy a ticket for just the Trianon estate which costs 12 euros and can be visited every day except Monday and some bank holidays.
Visiting the Chateau, the gardens and the Trianon estate is a lot for one day and if you have time (and the money) we would recommend visiting the Trianon estate on a separate visit.
You can find more travel ideas in the Paris region guide.
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Places to visit near The Trianon Estate of the Chateau de Versailles
Gardens of the Chateau de Versailles
The Gardens of the Chateau de Versailles are a remarkable garden famous throughout the world for its size and splendor.
Gardens of the Chateau de Versailles guide
Versailles Palace
A short distance outside central Paris, the Palais de Versailles is an enormous and luxuriously furnished palace, with landscaped gardens to match
Versailles Palace guide
Bois de Boulogne
The Bois de Boulogne is Paris' second biggest park and contains woods and gardens as well as an amusement park for young children and lots more.
Bois de Boulogne guide
Pont de Bir-Hakeim
The Pont de Bir-Hakeim is a famous bridge in Paris with views of the Eiffel Tower
Pont de Bir-Hakeim guide
Eiffel Tower
Built in the late 19th century as a temporary monument, it is extraordinary that the Eiffel Tower has since become the most famous landmark in Paris
Eiffel Tower guide
Porte de Vanves flea market
The Vanves flea market is one of the most popular of the flea markets in Paris and a great place to find a bargain.
Porte de Vanves flea market guideThe French version of this page is at The Trianon Estate of the Chateau de Versailles (Francais)