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Thomas Garnier
Nicknamed the “room of applause,” the Diana Salon used to hold a large billiard table for Louis XIV, who excelled at the game and played every night after dinner per his doctor’s orders.
Madame Victoire, one of Louis XV’s eight daughters, lived at the palace until the Revolution. Previously part of Louis XIV’s Bath Chambers, this brightly furnished room with taffeta curtains became the princess’s bedchamber in 1769.
The Latona Fountain went through multiple stages over more than 20 years before finally becoming a fountain dedicated to Apollo’s mother. All the other fountains in the property rely on Latona for their water supply.
Thousands of orange, lemon, and pomegranate trees at Versailles—some more than 200 years old—are sheltered in the Orangery during the winter and arranged in geometric patterns in the parterre, or ornamental garden, during summer. Courtiers would often give Louis XIV their orange trees as a show of good manners.
Although the Royal Opera House took 20 years to plan, it was built in less than two years as pressure mounted to complete it before the wedding between the Dauphin Louis and Marie Antoinette. The lavish hall was used only 40 or so times before the Revolution, partly because of the high usage costs—it took 3,000 candles to light the auditorium for a night.
The Hall of Mirrors—previously known as the Grand Gallery—was one of the most infamous rooms in the royal château. It was used by courtiers as a passageway and meeting place, while the king walked the 240-foot long gallery every day to reach the Chapel.
Louis XIV, also known as the Sun King due to his emblem of Apollo, built the luxurious property along an east-west axis to follow the rising sun.