Place d'Armes and Royal Gate
On Gingerguide's self-guided Versailles audio tour, Place d'Armes and Royal Gate is a stop worth about ~30 min. Stand in front of it, press play for a short narrated story, and put any follow-up question to the built-in AI guide.
- Type square
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Versailles Versailles guide
About Place d'Armes and Royal Gate
Three grand avenues fan toward a wall of black and gold ironwork, guarded by a bronze Sun King who, oddly, never lived to see either the gate or the statue.
The Place d'Armes is the vast paved forecourt east of the palace, where the town's three principal avenues, the Avenue de Paris flanked by the Avenue de Saint-Cloud and the Avenue de Sceaux, converge in a fan known as a patte d'oie, or goose-foot, aimed squarely at the château. It is bordered by the Grande and Petite Écuries, the former royal stables. Beyond it the ceremonial approach runs through the Cour d'Honneur, the Royal Gate, the Cour Royale and finally the Cour de Marbre at the palace's core.
The gilded Grille Royale seen today is a reconstruction built between 2005 and 2008, using roughly fifteen tonnes of iron and about 100,000 leaves of gold; the original, dating from around 1680, was destroyed during the Revolution. The bronze equestrian statue of Louis XIV in the forecourt is not of his era: commissioned by Louis-Philippe, it was installed in 1836, with the horse and rider by different sculptors.
Did you know? When the Royal Gate was rebuilt, the bronze Louis XIV had to go too. In 2006 the entire equestrian statue was dismantled and carted off, then reinstalled once the new ironwork stood around it.
How much time do you need at Place d'Armes and Royal Gate?
Around ~30 min works well for Place d'Armes and Royal Gate — time to look properly and listen to its story on the spot. Linger if you like; nothing on a self-guided walk is on a clock.
Should you stop at Place d'Armes and Royal Gate?
Yes — Place d'Armes and Royal Gate made the cut as one of 15 places the Gingerguide team researched and narrated across Versailles. The story tells you why it is worth the stop, and the AI guide fills in anything you still wonder.
Nearby stops in Versailles
Day 1 of the Versailles in 2 days itinerary →
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Hear the story of Place d'Armes and Royal Gate
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