Le Grand Trianon

"A little pink marble and porphyry palace with delightful gardens."

- Jules Hardouin Mansart, 1687.

La Grande Trianon, where Louis XV famously held "meetings" with Madame du Pompadour, is just as Mansart described. Pink and gold, marble everywhere and wonderfully manicured gardens, even in the cool Winter temperatures. It seems like it was full of light when I look back on these photos, but that wasn't really the case. The light came in from outside so brightly that it filled up the rooms when I captured them with my camera. In reality, the rooms were a lot dimmer than they appear, so much so that when I looked out through a window my eyes stung from how bright it was outside.


There was this one great moment in La Grande Trianon where Melissa had my camera, and the little gallery I was standing in emptied of people. It was just me for a moment. Pretty magical when you're in a place frequented by tourists. We came back later in the day, to see the sun start to slip in the sky before heading back up to the main Château.