Marie-Antoinette's Hamlet

So the last main part of Versailles I have left to show is Marie-Antoinette's hamlet. It's tucked into a side pocket of the estate beyond the Grand and Petit Trianons. It's actually a little bit of a hike to get there, but it is oh, so worth it.

The hamlet was built for Marie-Antoinette in 1783. It consists of twelve cottages, five of which were reserved for her personal use, and the other seven were actually functional farm buildings. Some of the buildings have been demolished over the years, but most of the remain, and what a sight they are.

This was my favorite part of Versailles. I mean, yes, the Hall of Mirrors, the King and Queen's bedrooms, the galerie de batailles, the Grand Canal, the gardens, it's all fabulous. But nothing compares to the Queen's hamlet. It is a well-known story that Marie-Antoinette used to come out to the hamlet to play at being a common milkmaid and I gotta say, I used to judge Her Majesty whenever I thought about that tale but now...I can't blame her one bit. I don't care what I was Queen of, if I had a hamlet like to this to play around in, by God, I'd never leave.

Remember the scene at the beginning of Beauty and the Beast where Belle sings about getting the heck out of her quaint little French village? That's exactly what this place looks like (and now I honestly can't imagine why she would ever want to go off anywhere else). I swear I walked into it and almost spontaneously burst into the first verse.

Okay, I'll shut up now and just let you see for yourself:

(See what I mean?)

The fish were very excited to see us.

 It's even got a wheel on the side like Maurice's house!

Sorry I'm obsessed with this tower. And by that I mean I'm totally not sorry I'm obsessed with this tower.

 The Queen's House

 Each structure has a garden out back, either a decorative one like this...

 Or a functional one, like this.

 I don't know what these pink flowers are, but they're perfect.

More tower!

THERE'S EVEN A SWAN. A SWAN IN THE LAKE.

The back of the house with all the pink flowers down the stairs.

The garden behind the same house.