I am hoping that the Grandes Eaux Musicales will be held on Saturday April 5th. Can anyone tell me if they enjoyed this display while visiting Versaille? I have ordered Rick Steves Paris 2008 but have yet to receive it. I think I read in a previous thread that you need to get off the RER at a specific area so you don't have to walk much further.

I would LOVE to hear about any tips, suggestions or experiences!

Thanks
Sandy

Hi Sandy,
We visted the Eaux Musicales last summer but we visited from Paris by car so I'm not much help I'm afraid.
It's great fun but quite hard work. Are you visiting the Palace as well? If so you'll need quiet a lot of stamina and I recommend booking ahead.

We probably enjoyed Vaux le Vicomte slightly more. It makes for an easier visit and is quite beautiful especially on an evening when the candles are lit.
Here is a link.
They have "fountain days " too but not on the same days/evenings when they light the chateau by candles unfortunately.
You can hire golf carts at both locations but Versailles charges are very high and we also thought the catering there was very very poor.
Wendy

I enjoyed the eaux part a great deal but couldn't bear the musicales part.
The sound system could only be described as casserole in French.
The music was Wassermusik. Fine, except for 2 problems. It was repeated over and over, through the distorting casserole system.
Let's hope Versailles had spent some money on the loudspeakers since.

Thanks Americana! Your extensive knowlege never ceases to amaze me. Is there anywhere you have not been to in France?

Merci Mille Fois
Sandy
PS I have been taking French lessons for about four months now

Oops! I need English lessons! I see that I forgot the "d" in knowledge.



Sandy

Ifeel sad that my post wasn't helpful
Wendy

Hi Wendy

Your last message put a smile on my face . I appreciated your contribution as well. It just seems as if Americana is a "Walking Encyclopedia" of France

Hey, Can I help you plan a trip to Vancouver Island? Chachalaca asked me once and unfortunately I found the request two weeks later...yikes~ Sorry about that

Thanks Wendy
Sandy

Ahem, encyclopaedia here
not! I can't even remember the names of my neighboring streets here in the 9th right.
Wendy, cut it out !
It was a great idea to mention Vaux le Vicomte, the prototype of Versailles and in many ways much more graceful.
Indeed the lit candles reflected in all the mirrors in VlV are the kind of lighting that makes most sense for that space, more so than the stronger electric lighting. One definitely gets the feeling of seeing more instead of seeing less.
Similarly, the fountains "going at it" in Versailles also make the space make more sense. The fountains were definitely meant to be the star.
O la la la la la la, I'm no encyclopaedia of anything. It's just that Versailles is Paris's 'burb. When we are short on ideas of where to go for a picnic on a nice day, the Versailles garden is the no-brainer choice. Versailles, Versailles, toujours Versailles, yawn.

I visited the Versailles during the grandes eaux musicales in May 2001 and it was a highlight of my visit. I'm planning a return trip in June. When I went in 2001, I had seen the chateau several times before, so that wasn't a priority. I arrived in Versailles about 2:30 and the fountains started a 3:30. I thought I would have a leisurely stroll thru the gardens. I was so wrong. I really had to keep moving to find and photograph all of the fountains in the hour and a half they were on. I found it alot of fun and I think that my 12 yo niece who will with me in June will really enjoy it. After the Neptune fountain finished at 5:30, I thought I would see if they would let me in the Chateau. I had a museum pass, so I wouldn't have to pay the admission. I got in and it was wonderful. There were only about 5 people in the hall of mirrors. It was the best visit to the chateau.

Hi Molly

That's how little I know......I thought the fountains were on the whole day

Sandy

Sandy
Some of the fountains are on from 11:00 to noon and then all of them are on from 3:30 to 5:00, with the Neptune Basin on from 5:20 to 5:30. This from the Versailles website - http://www.chateauversaillesspectacles.fr/gem.htm

There was a huge long thread on this topic back in the spring of last year. (I don't know how to do the proper linking, moderators please fix!)

After our trip to Paris last fall, and based on the thread linked to above, I created a SlowTravel Map of Versailles including the train station and restaurant recommendations.

1. Use the RER combined pass. See the thread linked to above.
2. Yes, the music isn't the best, but it's fun.
3. The best view, and a major way the fountains were designed to be seen, is from the Hall of Mirrors. Be in it while the main fountains are going. (Also look for the grafitti scratched into the walls. Some of it is 18th century!)
4. There are fountains scattered all through the park. You must have the Fountain Map and schedule to find them. Get a printed copy while at the chateau (see the thread referenced above.) The PDF copy on the Versailles website is just a low resolution JPEG, and is illegible.
5. It really isn't possible to see all of Versailles in a day. Believe me; I'm a gung ho see-it-all-cram-it-in traveler and Versaille defeated me. So for a complete visit, the Trianon and Hameau will have to wait for another day.
6. Have lunch at the Flotilla restaurant on the grounds. Get there at the stroke of noon and beat the crowds. Going out of the grounds for lunch is time consuming and the food at flotilla was perfectly acceptable.
7. Eat supper at a place listed on the map, after seeing Versailles.

And yes, Vaux le Vicomte is probably prettier, and on a more humane scale. But everyone should see Versailles, and see it while the fountains are playing. It's incredible.

Hi Bucky

Thanks for your help. I feel so lucky to be on a forum with such helpful and caring people.

Hope everyone is having a great day~

Sandy

Our pleasure, Sandy. Paris--no much to see, so little time!