Do you want to visit Paris and the Paris region in a different way? If so, I have a very special mini guide for you: A Royal Road Trip itinerary, retracing the footsteps of Louis XIV!
I am super excited to present you this special mini guide I created, which will take you on a Royal road trip mostly around Paris, to visit all the important places in the life of Louis XIV, the most famous French King!
This road trip itinerary will take you to all the remaining Royal Residences Louis XIV lived in, including, of course, Versailles. You will also get to see or visit the Saint Eustache Church where Louis XIV received his first communion, the Reims Cathedral where he was proclaimed King of France and Navarre, and the Saint Denis Basilica, his final resting place.
By taking this trip, you’ll probably feel like stepping back in time, or so I hope!!
If you are a fan of French classical art, architecture, history and maybe even Louis XIV, than this is the perfect road trip for you!
If you’ve already been to Paris several times and are looking for something new to do, than this is for you as well!
If you like to learn news things everyday and enjoy smart travel, than this is definitively for you!!
What does this Louis XIV road trip mini guide includes?
On one side of the guide, you will find a map locating all the recommended visits. It starts at number 1 in Saint Germain en Laye, where Louis XIV was born and ends at 10 at the Saint Denis Basilica where Louis XIV is buried. Just follow the numbers along the red dotted lines to see the full itinerary.
On the other side of the mini guide, you will first find on the left, a very quick summary of Louis XIV’s life with just a few key dates. You will also find the list of all the places you get to visit during this road trip, with a quick note explaining why the corresponding place is included and most importantly the official website address of the place for reference during your trip.
This mini guide also includes super cute drawings of the various places!
Planning your Royal Road Trip
To help you plan your trip, use the below links to check opening times, and any other important info. Note that since the terrorist attacks of last year, most of these places have reinforced their security. Large backpacks should be avoided for example.
- Saint Germain en Laye: www.saintgermainenlaye.fr
- Palais Royal: palais-royal.monuments-nationaux.fr
- Saint Eustache: www.saint-eustache.org (in French, still useful to check the opening and services time)
- Le Louvre: www.louvre.fr
- Vincennes Castle: en.chateau-vincennes.fr
- Reims Cathedral: www.reims-cathedral.culture.fr
- Vaux le Vicomte: www.vaux-le-vicomte.com
- Fontainebleau Castle: www.chateaudefontainebleau.fr
- Versailles: en.chateauversailles.fr
- Saint Denis Basilica: saint-denis.monuments-nationaux.fr/en/
Bonus:
Saint Cloud Park: saint-cloud.monuments-nationaux.fr
Les Invalides : www.musee-armee.fr
Saint Sulpice church: pss75.fr (in French only)
Paris Observatory: www.obspm.fr (currently closed for renovation)
Saint-Jean-Baptiste church in Saint-Jean-de-Luz (South-West region): www.saint-jean-de-luz.com
During this road trip, you will get to visit 3 UNESCO World Heritage sites: The Palace & Park of Versailles, the Palace & Park of Fontainebleau and the Reims Cathedral. I think that’s pretty cool!
To fully enjoy each and all of those marvelous places, you should probably give yourself 3 to 4 days to complete this road trip.
The full tour is about 300 miles / 500km as Reims and Fontainebleau are not in the Paris region.
If you don’t have time, you can shorten this trip, by skipping Reims, Fontainebleau and Vaux le Vicomte (it would be a shame 😉 ) and keeping your visits to the monuments in and around Paris (from number 6 – Vincennes, head to 9 – Versailles). This will decrease your driving to circa 80 miles / 130 km. Do keep in mind that traffic in and around Paris can be really bad. If you’re going to stay in the Paris region, you probably should consider using public transports.
How to get your Royal Road trip guide?
You need to chose the correct file depending on the paper format you will be printing on (Letter US or A4) by selecting the appropriate below link.
Mini guide – Louis XIV road trip – letter US format
Mini guide – Louis XIV road trip – A4 format
Once you click on the one you need, a new page will open with the pdf document. You then just need to print, fold alongs the lines and most importantly, plan your trip! You can always save this mini guide to your computer if you want to.
Unlike my other mini guides, this one is double sided. If you can’t print double side, I recommend to glue the 2 pages together before folding.
When printing, make sure that you set your printer on 100%. If you add margins to the document, when folding, some of the info might end up on the wrong side.
Printing in color would be best of course.
Did you like it? Then like it, pin it and share with your friends!
And let me know which places you liked best!
