For much of the last three years visitors to the Château de Versailles have had good reason to feel disappointed: The Hall of Mirrors, the palace's most glittering jewel, has been undergoing extensive restoration, with only about half of its 73-meter-long gallery visible at any one time.
This week, after a €12 million, about $16 million, makeover, the full spectacle finally resumed, with the hall looking, as closely as possible, the way it first appeared to Louis XIV in 1684. With its 357 mirrors, 17 glass doors, marble walls, chandeliers and ceiling paintings, it remains - as was the Sun King's intent - a sight breathtaking in its majesty.
Yet the hall is not as good as new. Time has left its marks, and while these are not evident to most visitors, experts know where the nips and tucks are hidden. Describing the gallery as "a dazzling old lady," Frédéric Didier, the chief architect overseeing France's historical monuments, said, "All the wrinkles in her face tell a story."
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