Built from 1685 by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, the Colonnade replaced a grove created by Le Nôtre in 1679: the Sources grove. A circular peristyle over forty meters in diameter, the structure is supported by thirty-two pilasters, which act as buttresses for the arcades supported by thirty-two Ionic columns. The pilasters are all in Languedoc marble, while the columns alternate between turquoise-blue, purple breccia and Languedoc marble. This discreet polychromy helps to bring out the whiteness of the Carrara marble used for the arcades and cornice vases. The sculpted decoration on the spandrels, created between 1685 and 1687 by sculptors Coysevox, Le Hongre, Tuby, Mazière, Leconte, Granier and Vigier, depicts Lovers enjoying music or country games. Under twenty-eight of the thirty-two arcades, whose keystones are adorned with masks of marine or agrarian divinities, gushing fountains pour into a spout that surrounds the peristyle. In the center, the original basin was replaced in 1696 by Girardon’s group, The Abduction of Proserpine by Pluto.

Morning:

10:30 am to 11:30 am (1 hour)

Afternoon (except on weekdays = no watering) :

From 2:30 pm to 3:15 pm (45 min.)
and from 16h to 16h45 (45 mn)

→ In the event of a level 1 drought period, the Grandes Eaux Musicales schedules change to preserve water resources.

Morning:

From 11am to 11:30am (30 mins)

Afternoon:

From 2:30 pm to 3 pm (30 min.)
and from 16h15 to 16h45 (30mn)

→ In the event of a level 2 drought period, the Grandes Eaux Musicales schedules change to preserve water resources.

Morning:

From 11:05 am to 11:20 am (15 min)

Afternoon:

From 14:30 to 14:45 (15 min.)
and from 15h30 to 15h45 (15 mn)

Michel Richard de Lalande, François Couperin and Jean-Baptiste Lully Messe du Roi Soleil

Jean-Baptiste Lully Phaéton