Marly-le-Roi

Finding Versailles sometimes too hectic, Louis XIV had Marly made as a quiet retreat. It was a vast project but, unlike Versailles, was not a centre of court life. A good impression of the estate in its prime can gained from Gothein's illustration and text, including the contemporary description by Saint Simon. The house was destroyed during the French Revolution but the main elements of the garden survive, as does the air of quiet seclusion.