Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [266]
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The attractive town of Versailles crisscrossed by wide boulevards is another Louis XIV creation. In the late 17th century the three wide thoroughfares that fan out eastwards from place d’Armes in front of the chateau – av de St-Cloud, av de Paris and av de Sceaux – were separated by two vast stable blocks. Versailles’ celebrated school of architecture fills the Petites Écuries (Little Stables) today; but it is to the Grandes Écuries (Big Stables) – stage to the prestigious Académie du Spectacle Équestre (Academy of Equestrian Arts; 01 39 02 07 14, advance ticket reservations 08 92 68 18 91; www.acadequestre.fr, online tickets http://acadequestre.fnacspectacles.com, in French; Grandes Écuries, 1 av Rockefeller; Les Matinales (morning training sessions) adult/under 18yr €9.50/6.50; 10.30am & 11.15am Sat & Sun, additional days during school holidays) – that the crowds dash. In addition to its 45-minute morning training sessions, the academy presents spectacular Reprises Musicales (musical equestrian shows; adult/12-18yr/under 12yr €25/21/16; 6pm Sat, 3pm Sun & 3pm some Thu), for which tickets sell out weeks in advance; call for information and reservations. Training sessions and shows include a stable visit. For more information, boxed text.
Nearby, the Salle du Jeu de Paume (Royal Tennis Court Room; 01 30 83 77 88; 1 rue du Jeu de Paume; admission free; 12.30-6.30pm Sat & Sun Apr-Oct) was built in 1686 and played a pivotal role in the Revolution a century later. It was in Versailles that Louis XVI convened the États-Généraux made up of over 1000 deputies representing the nobility, clergy and the so-called third estate (ie the middle classes) in May 1789 in a bid to deal with national debt and to moderate dissent by reforming the tax system. But when the third estate’s reps were denied entry, they met separately on the tennis court, formed a National Assembly and took the famous Serment du Jeu de Paume (Tennis Court Oath), swearing not to dissolve it until Louis XVI had accepted a new constitution. This act of defiance sparked demonstrations of support and, less than a month later, a mob in Paris stormed the prison at Bastille.
South, behind a stone wall, slumbers the Potager du Roi (King’s Kitchen Garden; 01 39 24 62 62; www.potager-du-roi.fr, in French; 10 rue du Maréchal Joffre; adult weekday/weekend €4.50/6.50, 6-18yr €3 Apr-Oct, admission all Nov-Mar €3; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, 10am-6pm Tue & Thu, 10am-1pm Sat Nov-Mar), laid out on 9 hectares of land in the late 17th century to meet the enormous catering requirements of the court. It retains its original patch divisions and many old apple and pear orchards, producing 70 tonnes of vegetables and fruit a year.
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MASTER OF CEREMONY
The press might well portray him as an impulsive bad boy when it comes to rampaging local government offices, demanding increased subsidies for his equestrian school (as was the case in December 2007). But in the ring Bartabas – passionate, highly respected horse trainer, choreographer and film director of world renown – is the master of his own exquisitely orchestrated ceremony.
‘Bartabas is the founder, artistic director and teacher of the Academy. His philosophy is to develop a great artistic direction in all its forms in each rider, to give that rider sufficient autonomy to train, care and respect the horses,’ explains academy equerry and teaching assistant Laure Guillaume. ‘He is the heart of the academy – nothing is undertaken without his support.’
Each day in the red-brick vaulted stables at Versailles (built in 1693 to house King Louis XIV’s 600 horses), some 15 equerries of Bartabas’ Academy of Equestrian Art (Académie du Spectacle Équestre) are put through their paces. Students train for three years in song, dance, artistic fencing, plastic arts and kyudo (Japanese archery) before becoming