Versailles - Grand Canal

This morning I said that I wanted to go back to the Chateau to take a photo from the front without all the coaches and people there. I knew it was closed on Mondays and assumed that included the private gardens.

However, there were a lot of people arriving, and we were pleased to find that the gardens were open 'free of charge'. So we spent another lovely day there, exploring parts of the gardens we didn't get to see yesterday. There were areas that were closed, but the majority were accessible.

We had a nice lunch and then this afternoon we took our picnic blanket and sat at the side of the Grand Canal - paddled our feet and relaxed in the sun.

It was a public holiday in France & Belgium today, and there was certainly a holiday atmosphere at the Grand Canal - people sunbathing, boating and children actually diving in and swimming!

I took quite a lot more photos in the gardens, and a lovely one looking down on the Grand Canal, but I really like this one as it sums up the day, and you can see the expanse of the Chateau in the background.