Le Potager du Roi, a historic fruit and vegetable garden near the Château de Versailles

For a day of varied activities, head for the town of Versailles, just a few kilometers from Paris, with its famous château, stables and equally historic kitchen garden. The nine-hectare Potager du Roi (King's Kitchen Garden) provided food for the king and his court for many years, thanks to the more or less exotic fruits and vegetables grown there, just a stone's throw from the Versailles estate.

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Created between 1678 and 1683 by Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie at the request of Louis XIV, the site is also home to theÉcole nationale supérieure du paysage. The kitchen garden, close to the Les Suisses lake, has been classified as an outstanding garden and historic monument, and still produces many varieties of aromatic plants, fruit and vegetables. Thanks to the know-how of its gardeners, the garden has been able to preserve its traditional pruning practices, and grows 400 new and old varieties of fruit and vegetables.

Initially, the kitchen garden was a swamp, making it difficult to develop! But nothing could stop the director of the royal fruit and vegetable gardens, who built an underground aqueduct, drainage stones and raised cultivation beds, which are still used today, almost identically. La Quintinie experimented with rare fruits and vegetables, sometimes brought back by travelers, to please the king's table. These were grown out of season, such as asparagus in January, strawberries in March, figs and even melons, just a stone's throw from the capital!

The structure, which is totally independent of the Château de Versailles - which may seem surprising given its proximity - is managed by the École Nationale Supérieure du Paysage and depends on the Ministry of Agriculture. In this immense green space in the heart of the city, you can soak up the sun's rays as you wander the acres, discovering the produce, freely, in the footsteps of the king, who loved to stroll through his life-size kitchen garden, arriving by the King's Gate.

For just a few euros, you can admire strikingly large apples, white eggplants, huge sunflowers, colorful flowering and fragrant bosquets, meet Groseille, one of the garden's adorable little cats, or get lost behind the many walls that hide resplendent trees, facing the superb Saint-Louis cathedral.

The aim of this historic kitchen garden is to make this horticultural culture accessible to the general public. It's a fun place for children to learn more about nature, with a breath of fresh air thrown in for good measure! The garden can be visited all year round, as well as during various cultural events, and also offers local fruit and vegetables, sold on Saturdays according to harvest, in the store and at the market opposite. Not to mention the many juices, jams, honey and even cosmetics that come from them!