Yesterday, we looked at the sufficiently ornate but accessible interior of the Petit Trianon, a compact building I love more than the Palace of Versailles. I didn’t know much about this structure, and I’m glad my wife insisted we visit.

Surrounding the building on the left and right, are two gardens appropriately scaled for the smaller estate. On the right is an unstructured garden, which Google Maps labeled the English Garden. To the left is a highly structured garden called the French Garden. You can tell which is which by looking at the pictures.

The English Garden’s centerpiece is the Temple of Love, a small circular structure. I shot the first picture at a 76mm equivalent. I shifted positions and zoomed to my maximum 120mm to get the second shot. It’s possible to wander the gardens and shoot the temple up close, but I chose to zoom with my zoom. At this point, I was pretty tired.

We see the French Garden on the other side. This time, I shot at a 70mm and 120mm equivalent. Seeing this in Google Street View reminded me how long this garden is, which is compressed in both of these photographs.

The Petit Trianon and the gardens are lovely and worth a visit. I can see how the Queen would prefer this space over the palace because of its intimate and secluded environment.

Which garden do you prefer?

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