Le Temple de l’Amour, Versailles

Beyond the palace, the canal and the sweeping gardens, further than le Grand Trianon and le Petit Trianon, rests the quiet Temple de l’Amour. Since I always seem to find myself at Versailles with a raging fever (or perhaps always insist on going even when I have a raging fever), I will forever consider le Temple de l’Amour as a place of respite. There I can recline on the sunny steps, rest my forehead against the marble, and recover from the journey through the visual feast that is the palace, and the long walk through the majestic gardens. So peaceful is that place that I’ve even been known to doze off beneath the state of L’Amour.