Grand Trianon Peristyle

Stand where the columns frame the courtyard on one side and the garden on the other. Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Louis XIV’s architect, built this connecting gallery as part of the Grand Trianon in 1687. The king followed the project closely and requested the open colonnade. Its traditional name, Peristyle, stayed in use even though the columns form a connecting passage rather than surrounding a whole courtyard. Napoleon enclosed it with windows in 1810. Those windows were later removed. The open passage now lets you see how the residence was arranged between a formal approach and a garden close to its rooms.