The Grand Trianon
The Grand Trianon features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Versailles. Give it roughly ~45 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type palace
- Suggested visit ~45 min
- Versailles Versailles guide
About The Grand Trianon
A low, single-storey palace of rose-pink marble, built so a tired Sun King could escape his own court, with an open colonnade you can stroll straight through to the gardens.
The Grand Trianon was built in 1687, to designs by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, as a retreat where Louis XIV could escape the formality of his court. It replaced the Trianon de Porcelaine of 1670 to 1686, an earlier pavilion faced with fragile blue-and-white faience tiles that had deteriorated and was demolished. A single-storey building with a flat, balustraded roof in the Italianate manner, its signature feature is the open colonnaded Peristyle linking the two wings, a detail Louis XIV insisted upon personally.
Its rose colour comes from red-rose Languedoc marble set with porphyry; Hardouin-Mansart described it as a little palace of pink marble and porphyry, with marvellous gardens. It was not solely a Louis XIV residence: Napoleon and Louis-Philippe later adapted it to their own use, and in the twentieth century it housed visiting heads of state.
Did you know? The Grand Trianon's open central colonnade, the Peristyle, lets you see straight through the building to the gardens beyond. Louis XIV demanded this feature himself, overruling his own architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart.
How long is a visit to The Grand Trianon?
Set aside roughly ~45 min for The Grand Trianon. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is The Grand Trianon worth your time?
The Grand Trianon is among the 15 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Versailles, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Versailles
Day 2 of the Versailles in 2 days itinerary →
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Hear the story of The Grand Trianon
Preview the Versailles tour free in the Gingerguide app.