Versailles Gardens
For centuries, art history reserved its highest honours for sculpture, painting, drawing and music. André Le Nôtre helped change that, giving the garden the status of an art form in its own right. Among the groves and parterres of Versailles, three of its finest expressions.
La Grande Perspective
A single line of sight runs from the château, across the Parterre d’Eau, down to the Bassin de Latone, down the Tapis Vert, and out towards the horizon along the Grand Canal. An early lesson in the art of optical illusion.
Le Bosquet de la Salle de Bal
A grand ballroom, translated into gardens and open air.
Le Bosquet de l'Encelade
Mythology takes centre stage here: the fountain of the giant Enceladus, buried beneath the rocks he had piled up to reach Olympus, is enclosed by a green room of trellised arbours – an open-air theatre of sorts.