A Date with Decadence: Gilded Hallways & Royal Fantasies
There are museums you visit. And then there’s Versailles — which you survive. Or surrender to.
Art and Power Collide. Versailles isn’t about subtlety. It’s about statement.
The Hall of Mirrors is the heart of it all — chandeliers, reflections, sunlight pouring in from every angle. Every room is layered in paintings, sculptures, embroidery, crystal, and gold. Even the ceilings tell stories: myth, conquest, legacy.From the moment I stepped through the gates of the Palace of Versailles, I was overwhelmed — by the scale, the shimmer, the detail. This isn’t just a museum. It’s an open invitation to imagine what it would be like to live in a painting.
And yet, somehow, amidst all the grandeur, the museum still manages to be intimate. You’re not just looking at royal portraits — you’re staring into eyes that watched empires rise and fall. The gardens are a world of their own. Sculptures. Fountains. Ornamental lakes. And perfectly pruned hedges that go on forever. It’s theatrical, excessive, and achingly beautiful.
Versailles left me both inspired and exhausted — and I wouldn’t change a thing. If you’re in Paris, take the train, or make sure you include it on your road trip. Go early. Walk slowly. Get lost. Let yourself be swept up in the fantasy of it all. It’s not about relating to it — it’s about being transported.
Photo source: Gina Kalliris
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