How did the Palace of Versailles smell?

Yet Versailles was seriously fragrant. Throughout the Palace, bowls were filled with flower petals, to sweeten the air. Furniture was sprayed with perfume. Even the fountain And visitors – probably a defensive move, when hygiene was pretty scarce – were sprayed with perfume, on entering the Palace.



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Facts About the Palace of Versailles
  • In French, it's known as Château de Versailles.
  • The Hall of Mirrors within the palace has a total of 357 mirrors.
  • Everything used to construct and decorate the Palace was created in France.
  • At the time of the palace's construction, Venice had a monopoly on making mirrors.


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Hidden doors, secret passages, private studies, libraries and apartments… the palace holds concealed quarters in which French kings and queens once sought refuge, far from court stuffiness.

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Rooms with toilets, cesspools, and drainage systems only started to become common in the 19th century. At the Palace of Versailles, people would conduct their business in the corridors or in the gardens. In 1715, it was decreed that once a week the feces would be collected from the corridors.

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How much would it cost to build Versailles in today's money? Versailles Palace could take anywhere between $2-300 billion to build in today's money.

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The Palace of Versailles is currently owned by the French state. Its formal title is the Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles. Since 1995, it has been run as a Public Establishment, with an independent administration and management supervised by the French Ministry of Culture.

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Gold leaf certainly features in the decoration style of the interior of Versailles. In fact, there were solid gold table services (flatware and plates) in Versailles in the eighteenth century. But the Palace of Versailles itself is not made of gold.

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While it smells fine now, hygiene practices (or the lack thereof) in France during Louis XIII's reign meant that the palace smelled like urine, fecal matter, and more. Some claim that a lack of toilets in the palace even led some visitors to relieve themselves behind curtains and pillars.

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You Can Now Spend the Night Inside the Palace Versailles For a Kingly $2,000 a Night. The historic site is now a hotel. Photo courtesy of Airelles Château de Versailles, Le Grand Contrôle. If you're looking for a luxury cultural getaway to Europe, you just might want to book a stay at France's Palace of Versailles.

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Rates at Airelles Château de Versailles, Le Grand Contrôle start at $2,077 per night and include a dedicated butler, daily tours of the Château de Versailles, breakfast, and afternoon tea. This story was originally published on October 19, 2019, and was updated on June 2, 2021 to include current information.

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