Versailles (pop. 86,400), once the splendid residence of the French kings, is now chief town of the département of Yvelines. The town's main traffic artery is the broad Avenue de Paris, which meets the Avenue de Saint-Cloud and Avenue de Sceaux in the Place d'Armes. To the south of the Place d'Armes is the Salle du Jeu de Paume (the jeu de paume
was a ball game similar to tennis), built for the king and the court in 1686, in which the National Assembly met in 1789. Farther south is the 18th century Cathedral of Saint-Louis. West of the Place d'Armes, in Rue de l'Indépendance-Américaine, are the former Grand Commun (by Mansart, 1682), now a military hospital, and the handsome Bibliothèque Municipale. In the northern part of the town are the church of Notre-Dame (by Mansart, 1684-86) and the 18th century Musée Lambinet (furniture, pictures, prints, weapons, etc.). On the east side of the spacious Place d'Armes are Mansart's Ecuries Royales (Royal Stables, 1679-85; now a barracks), which could accommodate 2,500 horses and 200 carriages.
The main attraction of Versailles, however, is the Château de Versailles, listed by UNESCO as a world heritage monument, which with its beautiful park and gardens is one of the most fascinating and historic sights in Europe. Its architecture and interior decoration, its park and the whole way of life of the French kings in the 17th and 18th centuries were taken as a model by many royal and princely courts in Europe.
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