Just got an e-mail reply from the %26quot;Direction de la gestion des publics%26quot; at Versailles regarding my inquiry about operation of the fountains on May 1: %26quot;Le 1 er mai, les fontaines fonctionneront.%26quot; Based on what the Versailles website says about the fountain shows (or at least what my very rusty high school french aided by babelfish tells me), the fountains run twice on Sundays (apparently even including May Day), from 10:30 to noon and from 3-4:30 or 5.
The description of the two showings varies slightly, and I%26#39;d prefer not to miss something in translation:
de 10h30 a 12h00 :
Mise en eau des fontaines de la Grande Perspective et des bosquets des Rocailles et des Bains d%26#39;Appollon.
(the best I can do with this: %26quot;The fountains of the Grand Persepctive and the rock groves, and the baths of Apollo will run from 10:30 am to noon.%26quot;)
de 15h00 a 16h30 :
Mise en eau des fontaines de la Grande Perspective et de tous les bosquets.
de 16h50 a 17h00 :Final au Bassin de Neptune.
(here: %26quot;The fountains of the Grand Persepctive and the rock groves will run from 3 to 4:30 pm with a finale at the basin of Neptun at 4:50.%26quot;)
So, it sounds like we%26#39;d miss something called the baths of Apollo by not showing up until after lunch. But on the flip side, we%26#39;d get to see a big finale in Neptune%26#39;s basin. Could anyone tell me what these are?
chateauversailles-spectacles.fr/gabarit_tota… (the english link at http://www.chateauversailles-spectacles.fr/ simply says %26quot;coming soon,%26quot; which sadly doesn%26#39;t help me much...
Merci!
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Your translations are pretty much spot on. As far as the Basin of Neptune is concerned:
%26quot;The Neptune Basin, where the Nocturnal Illuminations take place, boasts 58 spouts and 147 hydraulic effects. All the fountains are turned on during the Full Play of Fountains (Grandes Eaux)%26quot; (from the official website of the Ch��teau de Versailles).
However, I wouldn%26#39;t advise going on 1 May, as the ch��teau itself and the trianons will be shut. Faintly annoying, as a week ago the official webiste (http://www.chateauversailles.fr/en/) was showing everything as open, and I%26#39;d planned around a trip out to Versailles on the Sunday. That said, if you only want to go to see the Grandes Eaux, then at least it might be quieter...
Enjoy your trip!
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Yeah, I posted here a week or so ago about the Chateau itself being closed on May Day while the gardens (and now apparently the foutains themselves) are open. However, in our case this might not be the worst thing -- we%26#39;re renting a car on the 1st and driving to a B%26amp;B outside of Chartres. So a stop to see the fountains looks like it wouldn%26#39;t be terribly out of the way. We%26#39;re thinking of returning to see the chateau on Tuesday morning the 3rd (closed Mondays if I understand the website properly).
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