The Great Stables
The Great Stables is one of the narrated stops on the self-guided Versailles audio walking tour in Gingerguide. Plan about ~60 min here. Press play at the spot for its two to three minute story, or ask the AI guide anything about it.
- Type museum
- Suggested visit ~60 min
- Versailles Versailles guide
About The Great Stables
A stable grand enough to rival the palace it faces, built for the king's horses and pages, and now home to gilded state coaches and a living riding academy.
The Grande Écurie, or Great Stable, is one of the two Royal Stables built between 1679 and 1682 by Jules Hardouin-Mansart. The pair face the palace across the Place d'Armes, splayed on either side of the avenue de Paris, with the Grande Écurie on the north side. It housed the king's saddle, hunting and war horses and the riding academy for the court's pages; at its height, the King's Stable service employed around 1,500 people.
Today the building holds the Galerie des Carrosses (Gallery of Coaches), a collection of royal carriages, sedan chairs and sleighs, whose renovated galleries reopened in 2016. It is also home to the Académie équestre de Versailles, founded in 2003 by Bartabas, which stages equestrian performances in the stable's manège. The architecture school occupies the neighbouring Petite Écurie, not this one.
Did you know? Keeping the king's horses was a job for a small town: at its peak the King's Stable service employed roughly fifteen hundred people, from grooms and farriers to the riding masters who trained noble pages.
How long should you spend at The Great Stables?
Plan about ~60 min at The Great Stables. That is enough to take it in and hear its narrated story; stay longer if it grabs you. The tour is self-guided, so there is no rush.
Is The Great Stables worth visiting?
The Great Stables is one of the 15 sights the Gingerguide team researched and narrated in Versailles, so it earns a place on a self-guided walk. Its story explains why it matters, and you can ask the AI guide anything the story leaves open.
Nearby stops in Versailles
Day 1 of the Versailles in 2 days itinerary →
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Hear the story of The Great Stables
Preview the Versailles tour free in the Gingerguide app.