There is no doubt the Palace of Versailles is massive. However, I’m not particularly fond of the architecture. Sure, it’s fancy, but comparably, it doesn’t have that much ornamentation and looks sort of boring. By contrast, take a look at Opéra Garnier.

While Opéra Garnier is substantial, it’s compact enough that the facade details aren’t spread across a ridiculously large elevation. The Louvre, also once a palace, has a varied elevation with more extensive detailing.

What irks me most about the palace is that I struggle to capture its essence in photographs. It’s just too large to meaningfully fit within a frame, and even if I did, the details would be uncomfortably small. This rear elevation is short of the entire width, with the actual size at least another 1/3 longer. Ultimately, my biggest gripe is it lacks good proportion.

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