The Palace of Versailles was originally a hunting lodge for King Louis XIII. It was his son, Louis XIV who transformed it into a master piece showcasing the pinnacle of the 18th Century French arts. Its extravagance and grandeur was unparalleled in that time and even up to this very day.
To the poor peasants living side by side with the nobles, such splendor was best described as a vulgarity. It was not hard to imagine what led to the French Revolution. Ultimately, it was King Louis XVI who had to pay the price - beheaded by the guillotine on 21 January 1793.
Ironically, today, people of France are benefiting from what the monarch family did for France - reaping the substantial foreign currency brought in by visitors who come to appreciate this Unesco World Heritage Site.
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