I came back from São Paulo to join my last Patrons’ tour (to Paris and Rome).

We started with Versailles:-

Then, into the Queen’s Apartment, starting with the Salon d’Hercule, with ceiling paintings by François Le Moyne:-

Through into the Salon de Vénus, with its statue of Louis XIV by Jean Warin:-

And ceiling paintings by Le Brun:-

Next door is the Salon de Diane, with the bust of Louis XIV by Bernini:-

The Salon de Mercure with ceiling paintings by Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne:-

The Salon d’Apollon with Apollo in his Chariot by Charles de la Fosse:-

The Salon de la Guerre with Louis XIV by Coysevox:-

Then into the private apartments of Louis XV with its wood carving designed by A-J Gabriel in the late 1730s:-

Finally, we visited the ground-floor private apartments of Madame Victoire:-

I was brought up not to like or admire the architecture of Versailles: too rich, too opulent, too Louis XIV. I wish I had paid its history more attention.