My favorite area in all of Versailles is where Marie Antoinette was the happiest in her own domain.
So, if you read part 1/part 2 of my Day Trip to Versailles posts, you already know why I love Versailles and the practical information about a day trip to Versailles. Part 1: https://ceciliasluxelife.comday-trip-to-versailles-guide-part-1-palace-of-versailles/ and Part2: https://ceciliasluxelife.comday-trip-to-versailles-gardens-of-versailles-part-2/
How to Get There
You can walk there from the palace or take the mini-tram that will take you to the estate( €8 for a round-trip).
History
King Louis XIV of France built the Petit Trianon for his mistress Madame de Pompadour, but she died before it was finished being built. The building was finished in 1768.
Then, his son Louis XVI gave it as a gift to his 19- year-old wife ( Queen Marie Antoinette) after the death of his father in June 1774. What teenage girl wouldn’t want her very own house? She moved in and styled the Petite Trianon to her liking. Queen Marie Antoinette loved it at her new personal estate where she didn’t have to deal with the court formality. Sometimes, she spent weeks living at it, and no one could enter without her permission.
At the Petit Trianon, if you are hungry, they have an Angelina terrace and food stand to buy sweets and savory treats ( so, if you need your hot chocolate fix you can get a cup of their famous drink). Also, stop by the gift shop in the Petit Trianon which has more options for Marie Antoinette related items.
Queen’s Hamlet/ Hameau de la Reine
The Queen’s Hamlet is one of my favorite spots in all of Versailles. Marie Antoinette longed for an idyllic, simple peasant life; not the real hard life of a peasant but a peasant fairytale world. So, the Queen set up to build rustic fantasy filled with story tale houses. These little houses are cute! The Queen’s Hamlet reopened in May 2018 to the public after a £326million restoration project. Now, visitors can enter into the furnished building’s known as “The Queen’s House” and “The Warming Room”( the kitchen and serving area). I need to visit Versailles a third time, so that I may finally see the insides of these buildings.
The Hamlet was made to be an actual working farm with a dairy and animals. Workers stocked the lake with fish, and the farm had real animals. For the buildings, there were 11 small houses built around a small pond, and 5 of them were for her private use.
The interiors of the houses were elegantly furnished, while the outsides were purely rustic to keep with the picturesque theme of the hamlet. She didn’t do any work on the farm, but instead, she had a set of servants run the hamlet and tend to their animals and garden. She enjoyed bringing her children to the hamlet and having parties.
I loved walking around the Queen’s Hamlet. She was a young Queen who built her own real life dollhouses to escape from everyday strict court life. Unfortunately, she was the last Queen of France to live at Versailles to enjoy this beautiful little hamlet after the French Revolution.
