Colonnade Grove

The pale arcades form a ring around the centre, supported by columns of several colours of marble. The architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart began the Colonnade in 1685, replacing a grove made by André Le Nôtre. Small fountains were arranged below many of its arches. At the centre stands a copy after the sculptor François Girardon’s group of Pluto abducting Proserpine, a story from classical mythology. The sculpture replaced an earlier pool. The ring of architecture makes a sharply different enclosure from a hedge-lined garden room. The grove walking route follows other enclosures.