So by the time of Louis XIV, Versailles was becoming a bit much for the king and his family, so he had a smaller palace built on the outskirts of Versailles, and the Trianons were born. They’re really quite lovely, and way more opulent than a summer house should be.
The thing about the Trianons is this is where the endurance section of visiting Versailles comes in. They’re about a half hour walk from the Palace (though there is a shuttle bus). And once you get there, there’s so much more to see around the Grand Trianon and the Petite Trianon. We were dead tired by the time we got home, and I felt like we barely scratched the surface of the Trianons.
My favorite place was Marie Antoinette’s Hamlet. She had it built so she could escape palace life (which she apparently hated) to something simpler. If simpler involves having your morning milk served to you on a marble table. I do feel sorry for her. She thought that this perfect little life was what happened out in the countryside, but it was instead conditions that started the French Revolution, and ultimately cost her her life. But I swear, it’s really a lovely place to visit, not depressing at all!