In the main courtyard, the participants paraded in colorful costumes, glass of champagne in hand and to the sound of trumpets.
"The pleasure is to wear the right costume in the right place," says Bruno Martinon, retired, wearing a turquoise velvet "opera suit" that took him "eight months of work", and a feathered headdress, about forty centimeters high.
Entrance tickets for the evening were sold between 170 and 595 euros.
Participants in costumes at the annual "Fêtes Galantes" event, at the Palace of Versailles, near Paris, on May 22, 2023 © Ludovic MARIN / AFP
In the Hall of Mirrors twirled couples reproducing the steps dictated by a professor in a wig, while a concert of sacred music was played in the Royal Chapel.
In the throne room, participants lined up to pose on a large chair stretched in red.
In a long pale pink dress, Victoria Smith, a 62-year-old lawyer, had come from Kansas City, in the United States, especially for the event.
Anne-Charlotte Punsano, an employee of the ticket office of the castle, had asked a professional costume designer to reproduce "identically or almost" an almond-green dress spotted on a portrait of the Marquise de Pompadour, favorite of Louis XV.
Participants in costumes at the annual "Fêtes Galantes" event, at the Palace of Versailles, near Paris, on May 22, 2023 © Ludovic MARIN / AFP
"I am transported back in time. It's a budget, but for me the magic is worth it," says the 38-year-old from Versailles, with powdery hair.
© 2023 AFP