Picture the year 1674. Versailles is the hottest ticket in Europe, and you've just followed the scent of orange blossoms and freshwater to this magical square of 180 meters a side. Between the lush lines of hedges and the clever pathways, gardeners scurry by, topiary shears in hand. In the heart of the grove, a green amphitheater comes alive-literally-with the melody of water. The “stage” is set with a floor of mossy grass, flanked by benches of living green, while all around, fountains soar sky-high with every flicker of sunlight.
Louis XIV adored this grove. Inspired by the Teatro Olimpico in Italy and designed under his direct supervision, he wanted a space where nature itself performed. He even wrote that after visiting the goddess Ceres, “one goes to the theater, sees the transformation, and considers the jets of arches.” And he meant it! The fountains here weren’t just decoration-they were choreography, dazzling audiences with arches and cascades at every step. It wasn’t all spectacle and sunshine, though. Imagine the poor gardeners wringing their hands over the water bill! Versailles struggled constantly to keep its fountains running, since water was rarer than powdered wigs.
The original grove, crafted by Le Nôtre with help from Le Brun and the mechanical wizardry of Vigarani, overflowed with rockeries, shells, ceramics, gilded lead sculptures, and waves of flowering greenery. It was like someone took every baroque doodle in a royal sketchpad and made it real. At the center, four statues marked a grassy clearing, watched over by cherubic “children of the isle,” tumbling and playing beside still more fountains.
But Versailles is nothing if not dramatic-including its redesigns. By 1704, the weight of upkeep (and perhaps all those soggy shoes) got to the kings. Jules Hardouin-Mansart started simplifying the grove, and later, Louis XV and Louis XVI pared it back to a simpler “Rond Vert”-just a green circle. Over time, even that faded. After 1760, maintenance fizzled out, statues were removed or destroyed, and the fountains grew quiet, save for a few little survivors now exiled (believe it or not!) to Washington and Trianon. Even the playful cherubs needed rescuing, restored in 1940 and 1980, but never quite glittering as they once did.
Mother Nature threw her own party in 1999-a storm lashed through the grove, flattening old trees and forcing the gardens to close. The grove became a backstage area for summer festival workers, and by the 2000s, it was just waiting for a modern makeover. But, as they say in Versailles, “never count a garden out.” In 2013, an artistic revival began. The celebrated landscaper Louis Benech joined forces with contemporary artist Jean-Michel Othoniel. Versailles held a global competition, and soon, the grove was blooming with life (and money-from sponsors like BNP Paribas and photographer Ahae).
Othoniel’s creation, Les Belles Danses, now stands in the clearing: three swirling sculptures-fountains made of over 1,700 golden Murano glass beads. Their arabesques mimic the ballet steps that Louis XIV loved, echoing the curved lines of Versailles’ own garden designs. New trees were planted-holm oaks, beeches, broadleaf shrubs-but they’ll never outgrow the height set by Le Nôtre, ensuring the view stays as elegant as ever.
So, as you stand here, imagine the laughter of a royal audience, the shimmer of Murano glass under sunlight, and the gentle bubbling of fountains performing for a king’s delight. This is one place in Versailles where you can truly say: the show must always go on!
