Versailles, the symbol of absolutism and decadence, a highlight of Baroque architecture, and a must-see, even if you are (like me) not very enthusiastic about visiting palaces. Once it was the royal palace of the Sun King Louis XIV and his successors, now it is occupied by the ‘common people’ – tourists, crowds of tourists from all over the world.

To avoid the crowds, we followed the advice of Els with the exception of no. 1: our visit was in early September 2015. Our hotel was in walking distance of the palace and we arrived at the entrance half an hour before opening time. After passing the security check, we went quickly through the first rooms and headed directly to the Hall of Mirrors. For a few minutes we had the gallery almost to ourselves. We only had to share it with the guards, but they readily stepped aside so that I could take photos of the deserted hall. Then we visited the other rooms, first the apartment of the king and the rooms in the Queen's wing. Again, we were almost alone in the rooms, but when we went back to the first rooms for a second and closer look, it was hardly possible to get through the oncoming crowds. Each room was crammed with visitors, so we gave up and left the interior. I agree with other reviewers that the Hall of Mirrors is the highlight of the palace. The rest is more or less the usual sequence of rooms, certainly larger and more luxurious than elsewhere, but nothing special.

We spent the remaining day in the Gardens of Versailles. The park has an enormous size, it is more than three kilometres from the palace to the end of the Grand Canal. We walked about two thirds of the distance along the channel, here you find only a few tourists, no large tour groups, only some cyclists and strollers, no trace of the hustle and bustle at the palace.

But even if you don't want to hike so far, you can spend hours exploring all the fountains and other small architecture in the French Garden. I liked best the Enceladus Grove, the fountain depicts the fallen giant sinking in volcanic lava. Also remarkable are the Ballroom and the Colonnade Grove.

The cherry on the cake was the temporary exhibition by Anish Kapoor, one of my favourite contemporary artist. Five installations were shown in the gardens and a sixth in the nearby Salle du Jeu de Paume. The photo shows the "Sky Mirror" in the foreground.