Located just southwest of Paris in the Île-de-France region, Versailles is an elegant, leafy city best known for its magnificent royal palace and distinguished heritage. Grand boulevards, orderly squares, and charming cafés give the city a polished yet relaxed character beyond the palace gates. Visitors wander through glittering halls, formal gardens, and fountain-lined pathways where clipped hedges stretch towards the horizon and music drifts through the air during summer water shows. Smaller pleasures include open-air markets, quiet side streets, and the rustic hamlet created for Marie Antoinette. Though often visited as a day trip from Paris, Versailles offers enough atmosphere and history to reward a longer, slower stay.