World Espalier Art Days
Many activities will be organised in the King's Kitchen Garden during the European Heritage Days.
For each edition, a national theme sheds a particular light on an original or innovative aspect of heritage, encouraging new openings and events (guided tours, demonstrations of know-how, concerts, themed tours, etc.).
The King’s Kitchen Garden, a key part of the Versailles estate, was built at the behest of Louis XIV between 1678 and 1683 to supply fruit and vegetables for the royal table. As a remarkable heritage site, listed as a Historic Monument and inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the King’s Kitchen Garden opens its doors to the public during the 2026 European Heritage Days.
19 and 20 September also mark World Espalier Days. Listed on France’s inventory of intangible cultural heritage since 2024, the art of espalier involves training a fruit tree to grow against a wall or iron structure through pruning.
The Potager du Roi is home to 3,500 trees, including nearly 350 varieties of fruit trees trained into 70 different shapes, maintained and pruned by gardeners who have mastered this age-old craft.
Guided tours of the Potager du Roi, explanations of the art of pruning by gardeners, and a creative workshop for young visitors are all on the programme for these days.
Saturday and Sunday
11am, 2.30pm, 3pm and 4pm: Guided tours
10am–12.30pm and 2pm–6pm: Demonstration of the art of pruning
Saturday 3pm–6pm: Creative workshop for young people: ‘Plant Architecture’
For children aged 6 and over
The Potager du Roi is offering a creative workshop to help children learn more about the fruit shapes preserved there. Participants are invited to observe and draw inspiration from these amazing silhouettes to create an illustrated postcard.
