Let them play Hamlets

While Sophia Coppola's 2006 rendition of Marie Antoinette enjoyed more hype prior to its public release than it did at the box office, her film arguably brought France's most romanticised monarch back into the spotlight - she even dressed her better. And who are we kidding, it was only the elaborate costumes that kept most of us from either falling asleep, or exiting the cinema.

Today's outing to the Château de Versailles confirmed Coppola's depiction of royal extravagance and frivolity... Marie Antoinette's Garden Hamlet, designed to allow her to experience 'peasant life' (complete with a dozen full-size cottages, a chapel, pond and trout farm), totally enforced the notion that the Queen lived in anything but réalité. And boy, did we wish we could have played for just one day in those gardens like M.A. would have done - with maid servants, cream cakes and pink champagne. We settled for a monstrous walk around (most) of the 250 acres open to the public...

Have a look:

The main palace... all 700-rooms: a former hunting lodge that King Louis XIV decided needed a make-over in the 17th Century

Just some of the gorgeous flowers on show

The view from somewhere in the middle...

And just a little farther back - although still well within the palace grounds

Two of the many statues on display... there is so much symmetry in the garden you feel as though you're standing on one big chessboard

The Queen's bedchamber, within the main palace

Aside from having to line up for over an hour just to gain entry, and having to maneuver around the other thousand tourists visiting the Château, a trip to Versailles is definitely a must on any Paris sojourn. If you're lucky you'll even get serenaded on the metro home. Yes, for the benefit of American tourists there's a crooner belting out Frank Sinatra and Broadway tunes from his karaoke box, as you ride the 40-minute trip back into the city centre... Or maybe you might prefer to drive!