Georges Rouzeau - 2009-05-04

This is Versailles' busiest district, middle-class and with many shops, easy-going and republican.  Its shopping streets, open and covered market, side roads lined with restaurants and cafes, and  antique dealers area are well worth half a day...

 

The Notre-Dame district, named after its church, was created from scratch by the Sun King in order to make his chateau stand out. He laid down very strict town-planning rules for this 'new town': imposed alignment and height of the houses, bricks and fake bricks, slate roofs – an aesthetic choice that was already backward-looking in a period when the fashion was to build in white stone, but he was following his father's taste. Unfortunately we can only imagine what this very harmonious ensemble was like, as everything has been progressively rebuilt and raised. Only the Pavillon des Fontainiers (at 11, Rue Carnot), built in 1683 to collect water fit for drinking, bears witness to the original project.

 

Louis XIV and his architect Hardouin-Mansart nevertheless innovated on one point that was to be copied worldwide, from St Petersburg to Washington without forgetting Paris. Versailles was undoubtedly the first town to see the combination of a street, an octagonal square and the perspective of a church facade. Admire the theatrical perspective which can be seen from the beginning of Rue Hoche, through Place Hoche and down the rest of the street to the facade of Eglise Notre-Dame.

Nothing less would have befitted this 'royal' church which was the court's official parish, which was not the case of the chapel alongside the chateau. The parish register kept in the archives of Versailles library is a genuine Who’s Who signed (rather sloppily according to our guide) by all the crowned heads of Europe. Built by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, this classical church is worth a visit, especially for its fine collection of paintings. Rue de la Paroisse, with its many shops, leads directly to the market at the heart of this district. 

 

Opened in 1932 in a fine 18^th century town mansion, this museum is devoted to artists from Versailles (like the sculptor Houdon), to the history of the town and to the beginnings of the Revolution. Some of the exhibition rooms still have their period wainscoting. 

 

In 1669 Louis XIV ordered the creation of a market as part of the construction of the Notre-Dame district. The stalls were packed together higgeldy piggeldy for half a century until a new royal edict, published in 1725, laid down the construction of fixed stalls. Four 'carrés' (squares) came into existence at the intersection of Rues de la Paroisse and du Maréchal Foch, each having its speciality: carré à la Farine (flour), aux Herbes (herbs), à la Marée (seafood) and à la Viande (meet) … (these names still apply today). But that did not suffice to put an end to the hovels erected by the stallholders (people even lived on the spot).  Everything was demolished once more and, in 1842, a fine steel and stone covered market was built. It has been restored twice, in 1900 and in 1990. 

With thirty or so stallholders in the covered market and seventy outside (three mornings a week), Notre-Dame market is an unequalled source of liveliness. Alongside the covered market, the side roads are lined with restaurants and cafes whose terraces are very popular in sunny weather. Have a drink here after filling your picnic hamper (see article).

 

Between Cafe Ducis and Cafe Franco-belge you'll find Rue du Bailliage and Passage de la Geôle where, in the past twenty years, some fifty or so antique dealers have set up the largest antiques centre to the west of Paris. This warren of courtyards and narrow streets is divided into four areas:  the 'Passage' occupying the former walkway of the inmates of the Geôle, the royal prison built in 1724; the 'Carré' where antique dealers boutiques surround the former wine market; the 'Village', a picturesque courtyard surrounded by small houses and shops, connected to Rue de la Pourvoierie and to the Notre-Dame market by a very old staircase; and the 'Bailliage',  an 18^th century building constructed by a pupil of Mansart, a kind of court of justice of the day. 

 

The fifty antique dealers of the Notre-Dame district present a wide variety of items dating from the 17^th century to the beginning of the 20^th century, ranging from clocks to paintings, and from ceramics to arms. Visit their website: www.antiques-versailles.com.

 

Les passions de Tom (second-hand goods and designware)

In a town overbrimming with Louis XV specialists, this shrewd and curious-minded young second-hand goods dealer devotes himself solely - and with talent – to 20^th century items. His shop is a godsend standing out by its originality.  Tom is particularly passionate about Scandinavian design and Danish furniture. From the door handle (2 €) to the Knoll lacquered sofa (2,200 €), his unprejudiced selection caters for all pockets. We could easily fall for a Royal Copenhagen ceramic bear or for a timeless chair by Arne Jacobsen. His shop, in the Saint-Louis district, is participating with others in the renewal of his street and the district.

Les Passions de Tom, 27 rue du Vieux Versailles, 78000 Versailles, les.passions.de.tom@tiscali.fr, Tel.: 01 30 21 17 24, 06 60 35 17 45.

 

 

Visibly less vibrant, these two districts, which in fact make a single entity separated from Notre-Dame by Avenue de Paris, compose 'one of the most beautiful 18^th century urban ensembles' according to our guide. And that's without mentioning the extraordinary green lung formed by the Potager du roi. Contrasting with the middle-class and shopping Notre-Dame district, this quiet corner of Versailles is that of the 'emigrated' aristocracy, penniless and steeped in piety in the shadow of its Cathedral Saint-Louis. Having returned after the Revolution, it attempted, unsuccessfully, to recreate in this district a small corner of the pre-revolutionary regime, obsessively respectful of etiquette. At least it succeeded on one point: dolce vita...

 

Although intermingled indistinctively, these two districts have very different 'birth certificates'. The Old Versailles progressively replaced the Medieval town bought by Louis XIII along with the hill where he had a hunting pavilion built. The Saint-Louis district, for its part, was built on the former hunting ground known as the Parc-aux-Cerfs. Out of a concern for symmetry with the Notre-Dame district, Louis XIV ordered construction here only from 1685 onwards.

 

Halfway along Rue Royale (where you can admire the many guard houses), you'll come across the four Saint-Louis carrés (quadrangles). This food market, commissioned by the Sun King and built by Louis XV, turned out to be a dreadful failure, victim of the spectacular success of the Notre-Dame market. But this urban ensemble has kept all its picturesque nature. Each quadis surrounded by low houses topped by slate-covered garrets; to respect the spirit of the place, the municipality  obliges owners to open a shop on the ground floor. Unfortunately, however, the quads now serve as car parks and in the Carré à la Fontaine, you could easily miss the reservoir built in 1766 to supply the surrounding fountains...  

 

In a corner of the Carré à la Terre, a wooden door recalls the lovers' haunt in the Parc-aux-Cerfs and the 18^th century libertine imaginary. It is here that Louis XV is said to have come incognito to enjoy the charms of a woman of easy virtue duly appointed by Mme de Pompadour. In effect, the king's mistress preferred to dominate the sovereign's mind rather than his senses. More generally, and it is very little known, Versailles was a town where brothels were prosperous and respected owing in particular to the presence of a military district and a large garrison.  

 

The architectural gem of the district is the Cathedral Saint-Louis, admirably set off by the square of the same name entirely restored with sandstone paving stones. The work of the grandson of Louis XIV's architect, Jacques Hardouin-Mansart de Sagonne, the cathedral has a fine, graceful Baroque facade and church towers topped by domes in homage, it is said, to the Polish national, Marie Leczinska, wife of Louis XV. Within, very fine light allows you to admire the collection of paintings commissioned by the king himself and comprising works by François Boucher, admittedly more at ease with the female body than with angels. 

 

Consider yourself fortunate if you don't already know the Potager du roi: you're in for a good surprise. It's the Alhambra of early fruit and vegetables, a gourmet eden where the mere vision of growing garden peas raises the soul.  Laid out on excavated land and protected by walls, this immense pleasure and production garden (50 tonnes of fruit and vegetables yearly) is a genuine 'agriculture theatre', joint work of the Sun King and of his gardener and agronomist engineer Jean-Baptiste de la Quintinie. You can take a guided tour or else walk around the garden alone. Stroll  through the 16 squares of vegetables laid out around a large ornamental pond and admire the 29 walled gardens where very fine fruit trees thrive. Three days a week, the shop sells the season's fruit and vegetables (see article). Don't fail to see the gate dating back to Louis XIV and separating the fruit and vegetable garden from the Suisses ornamental basin. This wrought iron masterpiece, restored a few years ago, miraculously escaped the revolutionaries looking for metal to melt down for their canons.  

 

In the space of a few years, this corner of Versailles has become one of the most vibrant on account of its proximity to the left wing of the chateau which attracts many tourists, its cafe terraces, the admirably restored facades on Rue de Satory, and the art craftsmen (gilders, cabinetmakers and picture framers) and second-hand goods dealers on Rue du Vieux Versailles.

 

The name of this street refers to the old Medieval Versailles, the last houses of which disappeared circa 1674. Moving on, Rue du Jeu-de-Paume obviously owes its name to the game of real tennis. The court is at no. 1 of this street was the scene of the Tennis-Court Oath announcing the Revolution. Unfortunately, it is closed for an unspecified length of time. One of the charms of the district also resides in its many paved courtyards, sometimes allowing you to cross whole blocks, like the courtyard at no. 8 Rue du Vieux Versailles connected to Rue de l’Orangerie. Many coach houses still remain, transformed into garages…

 

Parallel to the chateau, Rue de l’Indépendance américaine has undergone many transformations over the centuries. The old town mansions of the Sun King's courtiers were to give way to genuine  'ministries' under Louis XV: Hôtel du Grand Contrôle (audit), Hôtel de la Guerre (war) and Hôtel des Affaires étrangères et de la Marine (foreign affairs and navy). The latter, preceded by a majestic entrance decorated with trophies and reliefs, today houses Versailles library. Its 'gallery', where the American Treaty of Independence was drafted, is a series of seven linked rooms housing the old collection of the library, books that belonged to royalty and princes. With its paintings by Bachelier recalling France's universal influence and its splendid above-door scenes representing the major European cities, it quite simply features the most beautiful decor in Versailles outside the chateau.

 

Created in 1987, the Versailles Baroque Music Centre took up its permanent base in Versailles in  the Hôtel des Menus-Plaisirs in 1996 and celebrates this year its twentieth anniversary. Its mission: find, restore, publish and disseminate the French musical heritage of the 17^th and 18^th centuries, a particularly rich but long unrecognised period of the history of music in France. The centre  has become famous in particular on account of its  'Grandes Journées' of concerts devoted to Lully, Charpentier, Rameau, Campra, Couperin and Desmarest. The September 'anniversary days' will be themed on the pleasures of Versailles under the reign of Louis XIV and the last glittering moments of Versailles under the reign of Louis XVI. On this occasion there will also be a symposium (Le prince et la musique) and an exhibition in the splendid state rooms of Versailles library.

 

Created in 2003 par Bartabas, the Equestrian Show Academy occupies the Great Stable built by  Jules Hardouin-Mansart for Louis XIV. They are quite simply the world's most beautiful and largest stables ever built for a king.  Two shows are organised here regularly. Les Matinales des écuyers allows the public exceptionally to enjoy the intimacy of dressage sessions against a baroque musical background. The other show, La Reprise musicale, reflects the Academy's work: the learning process, the appropriation of  tradition, and the transmission of knowhow, to music chosen by Bartabas.

 

 

Versailles tourist office, 2 bis Avenue de Paris, 78000 Versailles, www.versailles-tourisme.com/index.html

Tel.: 01 39 24 88 88.

 

Musée Lambinet, 54 Boulevard de la Reine, 78000 Versailles, Tel.: 01 39 50 30 32.

 

Galerie du Ministère des Affaires étrangères, bibliothèque de Versailles, 5 Rue de l’Indépendance américaine, 78000 Versailles. You should note that the gallery is open only to groups and by appointment (reservation at the tourist office) except during exhibitions held here. The next exhibition, organised by the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles, is scheduled for September.

 

Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles, Hôtel des Menus-Plaisirs, 22, Avenue de Paris
B.P. 353, 78003 Versailles Cedex, Tel.: + 33 (0)1 39 20 78 10; fax.: + 33 (0)1 39 20 78 01. E-mail accueil@cmbv.com. www.cmbv.com.

 

Académie du Spectacle Equestre, Grande Écurie du Château de Versailles, Avenue Rockfeller, 78000 Versailles. Reservation on 0 892 681 891 (0.34 €/min). info@acadequestre.fr. www.acadequestre.fr.

 

N.B.: You're advised not to visit Versailles on Mondays as it's a dead town: Notre-Dame covered market is closed that day and there are no stalls on the adjacent open market.