I made sure I was up early this morning as all indications were that Versailles was going to be very busy.Despite starting from the campsite only a mile from the palace ,it took half an hour to find parking:my original plan to go into the carpark in the palace park collapsed as I was turned away at the gate because only cars are allowed.In the streets around ,typical French car parking was taking place ,double parking,no place for a van,and very bust traffic.Eventually I headed back to the forecourt right in front of the palace (Place des Armes)and parked there:luckily,at 2metre 45, I just squeezed under the 2.5 metre height barrier.It was 3 euro per hour which in the end worked out costing more than getting into the palace,once I’d been there six hours.This is where an early start did come in handy ,as I found a spot where I wasn’t going to get hemmed in by what looked like was going to be very chaotic and tight parking.When I eventually returned the carpark was full,but there was only one other van of any description there.This is one advantage of “stealth mode” as full blown campervans have nowhere to go in this situation.
I was in the end rather unimpressed with the palace of Versailles.Clearly marketed as one of Paris’s must-see tourist spots judging by the crowds ,on what was not one of the busiest days,the building itself is a shadow of what it must have been in Louis XIV’s reign.For a start it now has Paris suburbs right up to it,and motorways on 3 sides.It was stripped bare during the French Revolution,and although a certain amount of material was returned to form a museum,even Napoleon baulked at the cost of restoring it.Future monachs preferred central Paris locations so it became a backwater other than for occasionally hosting major state events.It is really the sheer size of the building itself which is the amazing feature but this is difficult to appreciate from the angles you can view it from.
I was in the end rather unimpressed with the palace of Versailles.Clearly marketed as one of Paris’s must-see tourist spots judging by the crowds ,on what was not one of the busiest days,the building itself is a shadow of what it must have been in Louis XIV’s reign.For a start it now has Paris suburbs right up to it,and motorways on 3 sides.It was stripped bare during the French Revolution,and although a certain amount of material was returned to form a museum,even Napoleon baulked at the cost of restoring it.Future monachs preferred central Paris locations so it became a backwater other than for occasionally hosting major state events.It is really the sheer size of the building itself which is the amazing feature but this is difficult to appreciate from the angles you can view it from.
The Palace of Versailles
The Hall of Mirrors
On offer for viewing are about 15 state rooms.These include the hall of mirrors,quite fine but not outstanding in my view(surprisingly small):and the rooms generally are really quite small.For example,Louis XIV’s throne room is about 10 metres squared,and other than the halls,nothing is bigger than this:there are just lots and lots of rooms,most not on display and probably bare.There is no notable furniture or art.What I was most struck by was the room with 3 massive Napoleonic wall pictures by David.and his pupil Gros.Two are well known,the Battle of Aboukir,and Napoleon crowning Josephine,but I hadn’t realised how huge they are (about 10 metres by 8)
 Murat at the Battle of Aboukir,by Gros |  The Coronation of Napoleon,by David |
The gardens too were a disappointment.I had heard great things about the fountains and lakes etc.In fact the parterre gardens finish just 200 metres from the palace,to be replaced by walks through avenues of very high hedges(20 feet) and in the middle of the hedges there is overgrown scrub woodland to 40 feet tall.I’m not sure if it was always like this:Looking at a map it seems to show masses of parterres and walkways.In effect they don’t exist now,because of the infill by trees, and the tall trees also mean that there is nowhere where you can get a view back to the whole palace.The lawns are not well kept,and those flowerbeds that exist(very few)are in shocking condition.
Due to some perverse logic only the French can conjure up ,the Grand and Petit Trianons-the additional palaces at the end of the gardens-both only open at 12.Thus,if you follow the advice and get to Versailles when the main Palace opens at 9 am,to try to avoid the main crowds,you are through the Palace by 10 and have to kick your heels if you then want to see the Trianons .No-one seems to have realised that if they opened everything at the same time it would be immediately less busy as the crowds would split.I heard someone with a party arguing the toss with a door-woman at the closed Petit Trianon but she was just met with a Gallic shrug and told “its been like this for years”.
Due to some perverse logic only the French can conjure up ,the Grand and Petit Trianons-the additional palaces at the end of the gardens-both only open at 12.Thus,if you follow the advice and get to Versailles when the main Palace opens at 9 am,to try to avoid the main crowds,you are through the Palace by 10 and have to kick your heels if you then want to see the Trianons .No-one seems to have realised that if they opened everything at the same time it would be immediately less busy as the crowds would split.I heard someone with a party arguing the toss with a door-woman at the closed Petit Trianon but she was just met with a Gallic shrug and told “its been like this for years”.
 The stark gardens at Versailles.I'm sure the hedges weren't as overgrown as this when it was a royal residence. |  |
The Trianons were perhaps as interesting as the main Palace , and I also visited Mary-Antoinette’s little fake hamlet and farm.Here,being generous, I think the air of gentle neglect in evidence may even be historically authentic and “rustic”.
 The Petit Trianon |  One of the cottages in Marie Antoinette's hamlet |
Honfleur harbour -Campervans everywhere Climbing back aboard the van at 2pm,I slipped very easily onto the A13 motorway that runs past the Palace ,and headed for the channel coast.The 200 km to Honfleur sped by smoothly,and I pitched up on the section of Honfleur docks reserved for campervans.There have been places where I have seen what I thought was the most campervans I had ever seen in one place.Honfleur surpasses that.Probably more than 200 vans are here,each paying 11 euro for no facilities.
There is only one thing to do in Honfleur of an evening and that is to find which of the 40 or 50 or so seafood restaurants you think is the real deal. This would be a disaster area for anyone who has no patience with my menu browsing strolls. In the end I opted for a place that advertised 3 different varieties of Oyster from different local ports, and recommending their special features.The ones I ate(I had plumped for the mid-priced variety)were certainly good,and the rest of the meal ,with a view of the fishing boats intermittently leaving the port basin ,couldn’t be beaten.I set off for the restaurant circuit quite early,seeing the heaving crowds during the late afternoon ,but such is Honfleur’s restaurant capacity that a lot of them were nearly empty. It seems that a large proportion of the visitors come on a day trip by coach, and are gone by the afternoon. Returning to the campervan host, I could see that their normal routine was in operation: even though you are in in a delightful location for an evening’s entertainment in the town ,the majority seem to prefer just to get their satellite dish up ,watch TV, and cook in the van.
There is only one thing to do in Honfleur of an evening and that is to find which of the 40 or 50 or so seafood restaurants you think is the real deal. This would be a disaster area for anyone who has no patience with my menu browsing strolls. In the end I opted for a place that advertised 3 different varieties of Oyster from different local ports, and recommending their special features.The ones I ate(I had plumped for the mid-priced variety)were certainly good,and the rest of the meal ,with a view of the fishing boats intermittently leaving the port basin ,couldn’t be beaten.I set off for the restaurant circuit quite early,seeing the heaving crowds during the late afternoon ,but such is Honfleur’s restaurant capacity that a lot of them were nearly empty. It seems that a large proportion of the visitors come on a day trip by coach, and are gone by the afternoon. Returning to the campervan host, I could see that their normal routine was in operation: even though you are in in a delightful location for an evening’s entertainment in the town ,the majority seem to prefer just to get their satellite dish up ,watch TV, and cook in the van.
Honfleur-the central harbour basin and the iconic thin, tall quayside houses
I feel now is the right time to finish the journey as it is now getting ridiculously busy, certainly in the main tourist hotspots.July and August can only be worse.No doubt there are quiet corners to be found if you go off the beaten track,but I think back with fondness to the earlier days of this trip when it was very common for me to be virtually the only person on a campsite, and be 'the only tourist in the village'.
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