Versailles: the Hall of Mirrors, endless gardens and Marie Antoinette's hamlet

You enter through the gilded gates into the Marble Courtyard, the heart of the palace. The visit takes in the King's and Queen's State Apartments, halls dedicated to gods and planets, with painted ceilings, coloured marble and gilding everywhere.

The Royal Chapel, white and gold, and the Royal Opera, all in wood painted to look like marble, are two of the most beautiful rooms. In the private apartments you see how the royal family lived, always watched by courtiers.

The palace gets very busy from late morning. Arrive at opening with a timed ticket and head straight to the main wing, leaving the less visited apartments for later.

The Hall of Mirrors is Versailles's most famous room: a gallery more than seventy metres long, with seventeen large windows facing the gardens and, opposite, seventeen arches holding hundreds of mirrors, at a time when mirrors were an enormous luxury. Crystal chandeliers and a painted ceiling celebrate Louis XIV's victories.

It was here, in 1919, that the Treaty of Versailles was signed, ending the First World War. And here balls and receptions were held that were, above all, displays of power.

To see it with fewer people, go at opening or late in the afternoon. At midday the gallery is so crowded that the mirrors mostly reflect phones.

The gardens, designed by André Le Nôtre, are the model of the French formal garden: geometric perspectives, patterned beds, avenues, statues and dozens of fountains. The Grand Canal, over a kilometre and a half long, crosses the park and can be explored by rowing boat.

On show days, especially weekends from spring to autumn, the fountains play to baroque music, as in the king's time. The Apollo Fountain, with the god rising from the water in a horse-drawn chariot, is the most spectacular.

The park is enormous. Rent a bike or take the little train linking the palace to the Trianons. In summer there are night shows with illuminated fountains and fireworks.

Far from the palace protocol, the royal family had more intimate retreats. The Grand Trianon, in pink marble, was built for Louis XIV to rest from the court. The Petit Trianon was given by Louis XVI to Marie Antoinette.

Nearby the queen had the Hameau de la Reine built, a rustic hamlet of thatched cottages with a mill, a lake and a farm, where she played at being a peasant away from the court's eyes. It's one of the most charming and strangest corners of Versailles.

The Trianons get far fewer visitors than the palace, and the gardens around them are more romantic and informal. Many visitors feel the best of the visit is here.

Buy your ticket online with a timed entry to the palace. The «Passport» ticket includes the palace, the Trianons and, on show days, the gardens with the musical fountains. Remember the palace is closed on Mondays.

From Paris, RER and suburban trains reach Versailles in 30 to 45 minutes. To avoid changes and walking, a transfer or private tour drops you at the door and lets you combine Versailles with a Paris tour on the same day.

Inside the estate there are restaurants and cafés, some elegant, some simple, and picnics are allowed in certain areas of the park. In the town of Versailles, the Notre-Dame district and its market are a good alternative for lunch.