Pièce d'Eau des Suisses (Swiss Water Basin), Versailles

Visiting the Palace of Versailles and its grounds will take all day, so why not pack a picnic and enjoy it on the bank of the Swiss Water Basin.

A “pièce d’eau” is an artificial lake and this one is 682 metres long and 334 metre wide, which makes its surface around 13 hectares. The deepest area of the lake is about 1.70 metres. It is a shame that you can only admire it but not swim in it.

Long before it became a lake, it was a marshland area full of hordes of mosquitoes in the summer. Long before the Orangerie was laid out, the marsh was a blot on the landscape and the king wanted it drained.

Fed by underground streams, the marsh wouldn’t drain, so in 1665 the king had it dug out to make a lake. The earth was hauled away to fill in another swampy, stagnant pool. The land created there eventually became the king’s Kitchen Garden.

Meanwhile the Water Basin, which was octagonal in shape, didn’t please the king. In 1678 he deployed the Swiss Guards in his service, a regiment made up for the most part by mercenaries, to do something with the lake. They enlarged it and rounded out each end and by 1683 the king was happy with it and it was given its present name.

On the south end you will see a fine statue of a man on horseback. The statue has an interesting history: it was sculpted by Bernini to represent King Louis 14th following the path of Virtue, like a modern-day Hercules. The king hated the statue and had François Girardon change it into Marcus Curtius riding over the flames to save Rome.