Today is Saturday, May 16 and on Day 26 we are completing our marathon journey. We end our journey with the arrival of Marie Antoinette at the doorstep of Versailles and her life as 14-year old wife and Dauphine de France begins.

The End of the Bridal Journey

Today’s journey is roughly 10 miles. If they were traveling today, they would likely take the A13. Her route in 1770 was probably on the grand southern road, Route de Sèvres. She was accompanied by appointed members of the royal court assigned to her.

Her final bridal road trip began early in the morning from La Muette. It ended as she entered the extended pastoral land of Versailles. Enroute through the village of Versailles, thousands of people were on the streets for a view of the young royal.

According to some sources, Marie Antoinette’s first view of Versailles was a surprise. Beautiful as it was, it didn’t seem well kept, with traders allowed in the halls of the palace and the occasional member of the court urinating in the hall rather than making the long walk to a toilet.

Her marriage was held later that day. One of the phrases I’ve read is that in her lovely white gown with the wide skirt, she was elegant and carried herself as a royal, but had the appearance of not being any older than twelve years, although she was in fact 14 years old on her wedding day.

I leave Marie Antoinette here as she arrives at 9:30 in the morning at the gates of Versailles on her wedding day, May 16, 1770. This is the end of the road for us, but the beginning of a storied marriage and life for her. Good luck.

You know the rest of the story, or at least the particular version of the story you have heard or read. Researchers are still digging up morsels of information that affirm or contradict previous reports. Such were the intricacies of the French royal court and the lives of Louis XVI and his queen consort.

My Stay in Versailles

Taking a deep breath, leaving Marie Antoinette behind, I move on with my day. I toured the palace of Versailles many years ago, so I’m not getting in that line. In the sumptuous Hall of Mirrors while jostled by the crowd of tourists, I remember thinking ‘no wonder they had a revolution.’ This time, I avoided the lines to the Palace and made my way to the open air and more peaceful atmosphere of the Versailles Gardens and the Petit Trianon.

The Petit Triaton and the tiny Hameau built for Marie Antoinette by her design where she escaped to avoid the intricacies of court life within the palace below.

Leaving behind an informative guide, I walk from the palace grounds into the charming little town of Versailles. It’s surprising that this immense palace and grounds with thousands of tourists each day exists within this little village that seems to have kept its small town character over time. That time being from at least a thousand years, probably 500 years before Louis XIII’s construction of his hunting lodge and the later creation of the Palace of Versailles by Louis XIV.

Residents still stroll with their baby carriages and dogs, greeting friends on the street. Local businesses appear to thrive without a big box store in sight.

My family-run inn, the Royal Hotel is within a few blocks of the Palace of Versailles and yet seems worlds away. I have a room on the first floor with a window that looks out on the small side street. Before leaving for my sightseeing, I close the draperies looking out on the street. In the morning, I open the draperies and found the sometime during the evening the outside shutters were closed. A nice touch by a caring proprietor.

After a modest but delicious breakfast at the hotel of fruit yogurt, coffee and croissant, I bid them farewell. Having begun in Vienna, Austria, then through Germany and France with 23 stops over 26 days, having experienced a number of adventures and being charmed by many a village, our replication of the bridal journey is complete. I’m off to Charles de Gaulle Airport. Mission complete.