The Grand Apartments

The Hercules Room

Time Needed: 10-15 minutes

The largest room in the apartments showcases power through mythology.

Must See: - Veronese's "Meal at the House of Simon"—one of the palace's most important paintings - The ceiling showing Hercules being received into Olympus - The elaborate marble decoration

Hidden Detail: The room's acoustics were designed for concerts. Stand in the center and speak—your voice carries perfectly to the corners.

Rest Opportunity: Benches available along the walls.

The Abundance Room

Time Needed: 5-10 minutes

This antechamber displays royal wealth through allegory.

Key Features: - Ceiling celebrating royal generosity (ironic given period poverty) - Portraits of Louis XIV's ancestors - View into the following rooms creating impressive perspective

Context Note: Servants and courtiers waited here, sometimes for hours, hoping for royal attention. Imagine the anxiety and politics that filled this space.

The Venus Room

Time Needed: 10 minutes

Named for the goddess of love, this room hosted evening entertainment.

Highlights: - The ceiling's complex allegory of Venus subjugating powers to love - Louis XIV's statue in Roman costume - Trompe-l'oeil perspectives extending the space

Practical Tip: Light refreshments were served here during palace parties. The tables would be laden with exotic fruits—pineapples were particular showpieces, costing as much as a servant's yearly wage.

The Diana Room

Time Needed: 10 minutes

Once the palace billiard room, now showcasing royal portraits.

Notable Elements: - Bernini's bust of Louis XIV—captured at age 27 - The ceiling showing Diana's hunting scenes - Animal sculptures reflecting the hunting theme

Lesser-Known Fact: Women played billiards here too—Marie Antoinette was reportedly quite skilled. The game allowed rare informal mixing of genders at court.

The Mars Room

Time Needed: 10-15 minutes

The former Guard Room transformed into a throne room for audiences.

Important Features: - Military-themed ceiling appropriate for Mars - David's "Napoleon Crossing the Alps" (added later) - The king's musicians performed from the galleries

Accessibility Note: Wide doorways here accommodate wheelchairs comfortably.

The Mercury Room

Time Needed: 10-15 minutes

The state bedchamber where Louis XIV's body lay in state.

Significant Details: - The famous automated clock given by Antoine Morand - The bed where royal births and deaths were displayed - Ceiling showing Mercury on his chariot

Sobering Thought: This room witnessed both royal births celebrated by thousands and deaths mourned by the nation. The bed was a stage for life's most intimate moments made public.

The Apollo Room

Time Needed: 15 minutes

The throne room—the symbolic center of the Sun King's palace.

Essential Viewing: - The ceiling showing Apollo's chariot (Louis XIV identified with the sun god) - The throne location (now empty—removed during Revolution) - Portraits including Louis XIV by Rigaud

Power Symbol: The throne faced east so the rising sun would illuminate the king each morning—architectural propaganda at its finest.