Twenty kilometres southwest of Paris, the royal town of Versailles is renowned for the Palace of Versailles , built for Louis XIV, and, today, one of the most visited monuments in France. Envious of the chA?teau built by his finance minister, Fouquet, at Vaux-le-Vicomte, the young Louis XIV determined to outdo him. He recruited the design team of Vaux-le-Vicomte - architect Le Vau, painter Le Brun and gardener Le NA?tre - and ordered something a hundred times the size. The result was Versailles, the apotheosis of French regal indulgence, and even if the grotesque decor and blatant self-propaganda of the Sun King are not to your liking, its historical significance and anecdotes should enthral.

Much the simplest way to get to Versailles from Paris is the RER line C5 to Versailles-Rive Gauche (40min). Turn right out of the station for the chA?teau and left for the tourist office , 2bis av de Paris (daily: May-Sept 9am-7pm; Nov-April 9am-6pm; tel 01.39.24.88.88, ).

There's a wonderfully posh place to take tea in the town: the HA?tel Palais Trianon , where the final negotiations for the Treaty of Versailles took place in 1919. Located near the park entrance at the end of boulevard de la Reine, it offers trayfuls of mouth-watering pA?tisseries for about a?¬15.24. The style of the hotel is very much that of the town in general. The dominant population is aristo cratic, with those holding pre-revolutionary titles disdainful of those dating merely from the time of Napoleon. On Bastille Day, both parties go about wearing black ribbons and ties in mourning for the guillotined monarchy.