The King’s Kitchen Garden – Admission ticket + themed guided tour: ‘Feeding the King and France’

In the 17th century, the Potager du Roi, established under Louis XIV at Versailles, played a major role in the rise of French gastronomy. Designed to supply the royal table with high-quality fruit and vegetables, it became a laboratory for agricultural experimentation. Techniques for growing crops under cloches, cold frames and greenhouses were perfected there, enabling abundant production all year round and thus diversifying the diet. The kitchen garden also emphasised the aesthetic appeal of the produce, in keeping with the French art of living. It helped to make cuisine a central element of royal prestige.