Versailles, of course.
This was the only really unpleasant day I've had here. I came early by metro to avoid the line and they weren't really too bad with about a 30 minute total to get in and get my audio guide. As I was leaving, the line had to be at least 3 hours long if not longer so it was worth coming early.
The unpleasantness started as soon as I started the tour. There were so many people stuffed into the rooms that you couldn't turn around in some of them. I was pushed, shoved and elbowed repeatedly. In addition, the audio guide was really limited with almost no information. This has been the case with almost all of the audio guides I've gotten here so I'm guessing that they just don't know how to do it well.
In addition, due to the revolution, there is almost nothing authentic left in the Palace. It's all reproductions and guesswork and there isn't very much of that either...bare rooms with elaborate gilt and painted ceilings. Don't get me wrong, the ceilings are amazing but not worth 3 hours in line.
I'm also going to have a little rant about Asian tour companies here. I don't blame Asians for wanting to see the sights like the rest of the world but I do blame the Asian tour companies for running groups of 30+ people through these places at high speed and forcing everyone else to get out of their way. It's been an issue at almost all of the Parisian sites I've been to but Versailles was completely out of control. I can't imagine that the poor tourists are really getting anything out of it at the speed they're being rushed through and the rest of us weren't impressed either.
That being said, here are a few images.
The gardens really were worth seeing but, unfortunately, I picked the first day of wintery weather and I couldn't stay outside for more than 30 minutes. Oddly, they had covered most of the statuary and turned off all the fountains so it wasn't at it's full potential but the place is massive at 240 acres so it's impressive enough without the extras.
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