Marie Antoinette (1755-1793) came to France at age 15 to marry the heir to the throne, who would later become Louis XVI (r. 1774-1792). By 19, she had already become queen of France, and although she found herself at the head of a European empire, she discovered that her freedom was extremely limited: she was obligated to devote herself to an endless string of ceremonies and events held at the Palace of Versailles. Even on her wedding night, the queen had no privacy: she had to allow select members of the court to watch her get dressed for her first night with the king (she could not dress herself; she had to wait until the highest-ranking duchess at court handed her each piece of clothing. Try to imagine how miserable this could be on an especially cold day, with the queen standing naked, waiting for the duchess to arrive and hand her a shirt).
As if that weren’t enough, the king had no interest in having sexual relations with her due to a medical condition called phimosis, which caused him pain during erection. This naturally led to years without children for the couple, and the queen became the subject of gossip at court. The problem wasn’t resolved until Joseph II (1741-1790), Marie Antoinette’s brother and Holy Roman Emperor, came to France and convinced Louis XVI to undergo a minor procedure, similar to circumcision, so that he could have sexual relations with his wife. The conversation helped, and the couple eventually had four children: the Dauphin, who died in 1789, Louis XVII, who died in 1795, and Marie-Thérèse, who later married her cousin.
Bored, married to a man she didn’t love, and exhausted by the endless life of the court, Marie Antoinette found refuge from reality in fashion, gambling, and rebuilding the Petit Trianon (Le Petit Trianon). In another era, her pursuits, which cost the state a great deal of money, might have been met with relative understanding. But in France at the end of the 18th century, when many citizens were starving, the queen’s extravagance fueled social unrest that eventually erupted in 1789 and led to the French Revolution. Her life ended about four years later in the “Place de la Révolution” (later renamed Place de la Concorde), when she climbed the guillotine’s scaffold with dignity and spoke her last words, “Pardon me, I did not mean to,” after accidentally stepping on the foot of the executioner Sanson…
Marie Antoinette’s figure has never stopped fascinating historians and the general public, thanks to her larger-than-life personality and tragic fate. The route ahead of you differs from other itineraries because it will require you to leave Paris and travel to Versailles, located a few dozen minutes’ drive to the west, so that we can experience a bit of the sights, sounds, and scents the queen experienced during her deeply tragic life story.
The Walking Tour of Versailles in Marie Antoinette’s Footsteps
Instead of a map: under the heading of each stop you’ll find its address, and every address is a link. Click it, and the place will open right away in Google Maps.
The Petit Trianon
We’ll start the tour at the Petit Trianon, located inside the Palace of Versailles complex. To get there, take the RER C train from central Paris and get off at Versailles Rive Gauche station. From there, follow the signs until you reach the Palace of Versailles. From there, head toward the Petit Trianon, which was originally built by Louis XV (r. 1715-1774) for his mistress Madame de Pompadour. Louis XVI gave this small palace to his wife as a gift, and she turned it into a kind of private refuge from the bustle and formality of the king’s court at Versailles. Notice the design of her bedroom, decorated with floral fabrics, and the chairs carved to resemble vines with blue cornflowers (the queen’s favorite flowers).
Step out of the palace and enjoy its garden. A French garden used to stand there, which, like all French gardens, featured precise geometric shapes. The queen ordered the formal garden uprooted and replaced with an English garden, characterized by a freer, more natural style.
The Queen’s Theater
Théâtre de la Reine, Versailles
Walk around the lake and stop to admire the Queen’s Theater (Théâtre de la Reine). Marie Antoinette loved to perform in plays, and there she put on shows with her friends, including, among others, The Marriage of Figaro, which the king had banned from being performed in Paris.
Marie Antoinette’s Hamlet
Hameau de la Reine, Versailles
Continue walking until you reach the farm (La Ferme) and the “Queen’s Hamlet” (I couldn’t find a more precise translation for Hameau de la Reine). Marie Antoinette, whose ultimate ambition was, for some reason, to milk goats, built the farm and the hamlet. There, she and her friends played a kind of role-playing game in which a queen, duchesses, and countesses became peasants (the queen didn’t actually do any farm work; she simply loved walking around dressed as a peasant).
The Temple of Love at Versailles
Retrace your steps toward the Temple of Love (Temple de l’Amour), look around, and notice the French gardens with their rigid geometric shapes, standing in complete contrast to the English gardens the queen loved.
The Grand Trianon
Continue on toward the Grand Trianon. Marie Antoinette didn’t actually like this palace, but the pink columns, reminiscent of her dresses, and the grandeur of the place are well worth the detour.
Marie Antoinette in Paris
This is where our tour of Versailles ends. If you’d like to follow in Marie Antoinette’s footsteps in Paris, I suggest taking the train back and getting off at the Cité metro station. From there, head to the Conciergerie, where Marie Antoinette spent the final months of her life (the cell where she lived has been restored to look as if she’s still there).
Another option is to stop by the Musée Carnavalet, where you can see some of her personal belongings and the famous painting depicting her farewell to her husband before his execution.
That’s the end of our tour. I hope you enjoyed it. Want to try more walking itineraries? Click here.
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