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Why there are two Trianon palaces
The Grand and Petit Trianon were built for different kings and later adapted for new households. Choose between a low marble residence and a compact garden house.
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Louis XIV’s marble residence
The architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart built the Grand Trianon in 1687, replacing the earlier Porcelain Trianon. Louis XIV could come here with his family and invited company. An open colonnade connects the two wings while letting the garden remain visible across the building. The South Wing’s Empress’s Bedchamber began as a bedroom for Louis XIV, then changed under Napoleon. Much of the palace was refurnished after the original furniture had been dispersed during the Revolution. The present rooms bring different periods together. The Grand Trianon visit in this guide concentrates on that South Wing, the Peristyle and the upper flower garden.
Louis XV’s smaller palace
Ange-Jacques Gabriel, the royal architect, completed the Petit Trianon in 1768 for Louis XV. Columns, pilasters and a balustraded roof give it the vocabulary of classical architecture. The slope allows the first-floor rooms to meet the garden, even though visitors climb from the courtyard level. In 1774, Louis XVI gave the house to Marie-Antoinette. She adapted its small rooms and changed much of the surrounding landscape. The movable mirrors in her boudoir controlled the view through the windows. Farther away, winding paths led towards rocks, a little temple and the Hamlet.
Choose the landscape you want to follow
At the Grand Trianon, regular flower beds lie close to the long, low facade. At the Petit Trianon, the older French Garden survives beside a landscape of winding paths and water. The walk to the Queen’s Hamlet continues through that second landscape to buildings arranged around a lake. The main palace was the setting for government and court ceremony. Trianon offered the royal household smaller places for selected company and leisure. Compare the open Peristyle of the Grand Trianon with the compact rooms of the Petit Trianon. Each residence gave its occupants a different way to spend time within the same estate.
Photo gallery 1
Image credits
- Azurfrog · Grand Trianon Salon des malachites.JPG · CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / AVIF
- G.Garitan · Grand Cabinet madame victoire 1505549.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Pedemann · Grand Trianon Billard.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Jen Wen Luoh · Petit Trianon - Antichambre 01.jpg · CC BY 2.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Jorge Láscar from Melbourne, Australia · Le grand escalier - Petit Trianon (24276910376).jpg · CC BY 2.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Photo: Myrabella / Wikimedia Commons · Cabinet dore Marie-Antoinette Versailles.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Hyperios · Bosquet du théâtre d eau Les Belles Danses.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Léa Le Floc'h · Chateau de Versailles et son reflet.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Coyau / Wikimedia Commons · Hameau de la Reine, maison de la Reine depuis les Cascatelles 01.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / AVIF