I feel the same at times in France - it's history repeating itself

I'm looking forward to the fountains...even if they aren't on, I've always wanted to see them in person...it's fascinating how they built them to operate without electricity!!

"Rococo death march" 😂😂😂

Glad you enjoyed it!

Fontainebleau is great. Less crowded. Versailles ? Well… Versailles is a problem. When I was a kid, 30 years ago, mass tourism did not exist. Since it appeared, everything changed. Visiting Versailles in good conditions has become difficult. Sometimes, it is impossible to enjoy the tour because of the crowd. It is often a nightmare. I can understand you disappointment. Besides, few people know that private tours are available, for small groups ; and with them, you can visit places in the palace which are closed otherwise : it concerns all the private appartements, actually - which are, no surprise, the best part of Versailles. I don't know if you will go back to France, but if so, try to visit Versailles again and book private visits : appartements privés du roi, appartements privés de la reine, appartements de Mesdames, etc… It is worth it 🙂 Have a good day !

We did the same thing. Several days in Versailles (actually stayed in the town), and it was amazing, we ended up liking it better than Paris.

And then I watched this video lol

Even Marie Antoinette didn't want to be in the palace

Yes! I noticed that too. Plus can we take a minute to appreciate Jay’s out-the-window camera work?

What time do you suggest is best to go?? Right at opening?? 9am? Or more like 10-11?

Agreed! I went in 2014 and enjoyed the outdoor exploration and seeing the exterior of the palace. The royal quarters never really interests me.

We went in late June (so technically not the off season), when everything was opened and the fountains were running like they do during the peak, but there weren’t the crowds. Had we gone later in the year, it might not have been as enjoyable.

Glad you like them!

Taking a tour with a group is the absolute best way to avoid all lines! Great advice

OMG I had the same feelings about the Vatican Museum. We were packed into the Sistine Chapel and the guides kept telling us to move back to make even more room for tourists

Ah yeah, definitely feels like a ripoff since it's just playing music over speakers haha

True and the grounds are open and free to see!

You can definitely take rowboats out on the canal - it's fun to watch people row much farther than they should and then slowwwwwly struggle back haha. But picnics out there are always nice.

I don't know about the drunk poo shoe story 😆 But otherwise yes, he's very nice! Glad you had a good time

Definitely in the market for a new light jacket 😆

A bike tour is the way to go. In the summer biking around the gardens is magical

Yeah, the crowds are a big detraction, but I'm down for the ball someday

The gardens aren't free on musical garden days, or when there are other shows, so you'll want to check the timing to be sure. The grounds however are always free, and a great spot for a picnic (love the canal for that)

I hope you have the absolute best time! And thank you!

@@JaySwanson Thank you so much! Your guide and your videos have been so much fun to read and watch!! I'm excited!!

If I can only help a few people avoid the worst day of their trip in Paris, I will have lived a useful life ;D

Definitely sounds more interesting - I've only visited the town unfortunately

@@JaySwanson Appreciated it if there could be an introduction to the castle on top of your guide (yes we bought it and loved it!). As tourists who know little to no French, we ended up spending 2 hours in Gare de Lyon without knowing where to go (surprisingly not many staff can speak English for such a busy station).

It's insane to think of the contrast

Hello Nancy 🙂 I just wanted to give you some informations about the French Revolution. Peasants actually never led the Revolution. The (very) rich bourgeoisie did. It happened mainly because of the institutional block that did not give the Bourgeoisie access to political power, while the Bourgeoisie was heavily taxed by the government (the aristocracy was not). The French revolution was a middle and upper-middle classes phenomenon. Of course, with time, the lower classes got involved. But the first years of the Revolution, nobody wanted the monarchy to be destroyed : everybody (except some extremists who were really few in 1789) wanted a parliamentary monarchy, as the English one. Versailles did not cause the Revolution. If so, there would have been revolutions in every European monarchies where luxurious palaces had been built : Russia (Winter palace), Italy (Caserta), Spain (Palacio Real), Austria (Hofburg and Schonbrunn), etc… It did not happen, whereas peasants and lower classes were far poorer in Russia, in Italy and in Spain than in France. I hope my message will have been useful 🙂 Have a good day, dear Nancy !

@@heliedecastanet1882 So how was all of that artwork and artisanry, gardens and fountains financed? Taxes, right? The Bourgeoisie and landowners were squeezed for taxes, unlike Britain where landowners worked to improve farming through inventions in concert with the aristocracy. Still not a great tax situation for most or the life of peasants in Britain, but marginally better than France. Of course, the enlightened, educated French upper classes were in the position to argue for egalitarianism but I don't think for one second that the peasantry wasn't roiled by the ensuing starvation and mistreatment. Those who wanted a parliamentary monarchy were obviously unsuccessful. I'm not saying for one minute that Versailles should not be preserved and used with its art, gardens and artisanry. It's beautiful. But it still is wretched excess and is an example too relevant to today's inequality in wealth distribution.

@@nancyferrier8609 Dear Nancy, at your first question, the answer is taxes, of course. Did I say otherwise ? But it is difficult for me to get your point. I was not making any comparison with GB, I was just putting into perspective what you said about the anger of the farmers and peasants. As far as I know, English farmers had to pay royal taxes and taxes to their landlords too, as you wrote. The Royal court, the royal family and the royal residencies in GB partially lived thanks to public financing. The structural situation was almost the same. The French Court was yet more expensive, but when the "États Généraux" (lately, Assemblée Nationale) gathered in May 1789, the députés who had been elected by the people were not asked by the voters to demand the royal family to leave Versailles. Versailles was not the issue. British farmers had a better life than in France ? I don't know. Maybe (obviously, not for the Scottish during the Highlands clearances, nor in Ireland). You say yes, but you gave me no studies, no works or references that allow you to say so. Were English peasants happier than the French ones ? If you say so. But without any proofs or documents. But even if it were true, my point was absolutely not that one : I tried to tell you that it is not farmers and peasants who started the French Revolution and took the lead. And certainly not because of Versailles. Could we just please stick up to the subject, which was yours : the link between peasants and the French Revolution. It is not me but you who made a connexion between Versailles and the Revolution. There was none. Once again, I tried to make you understand that if there was an automatic link between starvation and Revolution, it would have been even more violent in countries such as Italy, Russia or Spain. But, for a reason I don't know, you chose to ignore what I wrote about the link you made, and decided to speak about GB. Well… Your statement is a running cliché, and your answer tend to prove that when someone has a cliché implanted in his mind, he doesn't want to leave it… Regarding the collaboration between farmers and landlords, I can't speak for GB as you speak for France, but in France, landlords had all the reasons to help their farmers to be more productive, and to improve agriculture. I really don't know where you read that farmers and landlords in France did not work together. Have a look at the "physiocrates". If you want. Whatever… In 1789, the problem was not starvation, but food shortage, which is totally different. There had been bad harvests in 1788 in some areas. It was a true concern, but if you write about the French peasants "starvation", you must also write where, when, and who was concerned by this. It was not the majority of the peasants. You are totally right : the ones who wanted a parliamentary monarchy failed. But again, absolutely not because of peasants. Those who wanted the end of the monarchy were some extremists lawyers, judges, journalists, rich landlords : all of them very far from the peasants. One thing you should remember is that during the Revolution, there was a civil war between Républicains and Monarchistes, which took place in Vendée, in Brittany, in Provence and do you know who were the monarchist soldiers : precisely the peasants… So, if you want to go on making a link between peasants and French Revolution, do as you wish. But you seem to know quite few about this event.

haha definitely keep Paris!