Your chance to live like the kings and queens of France will be here in the not-so-distant future.
Part Versailles Palace, one of France’s greatest cultural treasures, will be turned into a luxury hotel.
Versailles is one of France’s most popular tourist attractions. But French officials are concerned about the costs of maintaining the aging structures. A Belgian company has begun preparations to transform the Hotel du Grand Controle into a 23-bedroom hotel. Some of those rooms will overlook the “Orangerie” – an elaborate greenhouse featuring lemon trees and orange trees. The hotel was built in the 1680s – and the renovations will be completed sometime in 2011.
Some people are, no doubt, concerned about commercializing such monuments. But difficult economic times has made officials consider such plans. Other European nations have successfully used such strategies to help renovate their own crumbling monuments. In fact, France is considering adding hotels to up to 20 other historic sites – including the royal palace Chateau de Fontainebleau.