Discover Versailles Through a Photographer’s Eyes
As you may know, one of my big passions is photography (I have a blog about it, The Sassy Shutterbug), and just as much as I enjoy taking pictures and playing around with them in Photoshop, I love looking at other people’s work to get an inspiration or to see things from a new perspective. When I want to look at photos from a specific location, I use a site called Loc.alize.us (click the map to view it in real time), which uses Flickr API to show geotagged photos on a map. You can zoom in closer to see more photos, and if you like what you see, you can view photos on their individual Flickr pages. This is a great way to take a visual tour of the grounds of Versailles and see exactly (provided they were accurately geotagged) where pictures were taken. Even if you’ve visited Versailles before, you’ll most certainly discover something new!
Le roi soleil: A Musical Interpretation of the Sun KingWhat better way to learn about history than with some music? The French are known for their historical musicals, and Le roi soleil offers a chance at glimpsing into King Louis XIV’s life with songs to get hooked on. Admittedly, I have not watched it in its entirety, but thanks to YouTube I have enjoyed a number of the musical selections. Here is a popular song called “Etre à la hauteur.” You’ll notice portions of it were filmed on the grounds of Versailles. Do a search for “Le roi soleil” and you’ll find many more videos!
Grand Versailles Numérique
Grand Versailles Numérique, available in French or English, is a Flash-powered interactive website which allows you to view Versailles from different perspectives throughout its history: past, present and future. View 3D maps, pictures from past and present, and historical videos. This would be a great tool for the classroom.
More Versailles on YouTube
The Château’s own YouTube Channel features a great variety of historical videos, akin to what you would see on the History Channel, except most of it is in French.