Taste and Perfume at the French Royal Court of Versailles

Description of the tour

Our itinerary will begin with the Palace’s outskirts: understanding the city’s layout and locating the kitchen buildings before entering the Saint-Louis neighborhood.

Then, we’ll have a quick overview of the cathedral before entering the King’s vegetable garden, an amazing historical landmark and UNESCO World Heritage site. Walk for a 50-minute tour in this enchanting garden that hasn’t changed in the last 350 years. This amazing garden changed French cuisine forever and is credited for developing advanced gardening techniques. The microclimate on this garden enabled to produce over 300 varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables regardless of the season. That totally changed what was served at the king’s table and court.

We will also discuss how some vegetables were discovered, introduced to France and new sauces invented, which are now a big part of our daily lives. We’ll also discover the Court’s meal rituals from the morning to the evening.

Then we will go through the historical part of the city up to the Fragrance Courtyard where we’ll unearth the extraordinary roots of the French fragrance industry instigated by the Royal Court.
Created in an historical courtyard near the palace, the « Cour des Senteurs » house a cabinet of curiosities of the 10 favorite plants used in French perfumery and a room dedicated to the history and interpretation of perfume (perfume diffuser, videos…). The walk is designed as an olfactory trail through a garden and old buildings.
The perfume courtyard house beautiful shops linked to our itinerary like the Lenôtre pastry shop, la Maison Fabre, a luxury glove makers, a delicatessen and a shop dedicated to the famous « toile de Jouy ».