Destination: France

While the Loire Valley (two hours south of Paris) is home to the best variety of French châteaux, there are also impressive palaces much closer to Paris. Two years ago, on my scouting trip, I learned so much about the châteaux near Paris and along the Loire Valley that I came home not with the expected one television script…but with two. Of course, one script was “The Châteaux of the Loire Valley.” The other was “Side-Trips from Paris: Kings and Nobles Gone Wild” — a show dedicated to Versailles, Vaux-le-Vicomte, and Fontainebleau.

A fun way to get exercise is to run around a vast royal or noble estate and “scout” for a good camera angles. The challenge involves the light, which dictates what is useless, do-able, or wonderful. Scouting the backyard of the palace at Fontainebleau, we came up with this perfect place to film a bit where I talk directly to the camera. Below are the three “on cameras” I did at this palace: #76 (in front), #79 (inside), and #85 (in the back, where this photo was taken — this was the close of the show). By the way, along with just visiting these lavish palaces, it was fun to work a little meaning into the scripts as, in #84. The wording is not final (since it’s not “on camera,” we can tinker with the language before I record it), but it sums up the message I’m hoping to share:

[76, on camera] Shifting from medieval piety back to royal excess, it’s time for one last palace. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Paris’ booming elite class made this area Europe’s château heartland. Most of these lavish getaways began small — as hunting lodges — and then grew.

[79, on camera] It seems every king, queen, and emperor since has loved this palace. Louis XIII was born here, Louis XV married here, and after the anti-monarchy chaos of the French Revolution, Napoleon reigned as emperor right here.

[84, montage of people frolicking] All this royal, noble, and imperial excess and the resulting political upheaval is not necessarily a bad thing. I see it as the growing pains of democracy. Ponder these symbols of excess — once so out of reach, and today the playground of the public. Why are today’s French so hell-bent on defending their freedom? Perhaps it has something to do with their heritage of struggling under the thumb of abusive power.

[85, on camera] Whatever the case, when you travel here, it’s clear: The powerful of France’s past have left today’s visitors with some amazing and thought-provoking sights. Thanks for joining us. I’m Rick Steves. Until next time, keep on travelin’.

It takes six pretty intense days of scrambling to film a 30-minute episode. I grabbed this shot of our crew (producer Simon Griffith, photographer Peter Rummel, and me) at a happy moment when we had just shot the last bit to complete our first program. Next up: Châteaux of the Loire. Keep on travelin’.

Steve Smith and I have been working together on our France guidebook for over 20 years. We wrote the first edition when Steve lived in an apartment in Paris and I slept on the street in the old VW Westfalia van we co-owned (back when eating and sleeping included lots of picnicking and camping). While Steve is the guiding force when it comes to France at ETBD, I try to join him for a week or two of research each year. This shot was taken just after the hunting dogs were fed at Château de Cheverny.

One of the most exciting creative challenges in my work is fine-tuning a television script as we film the show. While I try to leave home with a good script, I’ve learned that there’s no way to polish it until we’re right there and we know what images we have to work with. We check our gear at the desk upon arrival at a great sight like Versailles and “scout” the sight with the producer and cameraman. Then producer Simon and I sit down to tighten and flip-flop and rewrite. We need to decide what passages are “easy to cover” (in other words, can be illustrated by vivid visuals) and what items are boring to cover and therefore need to be done with me talking to the camera (an “on camera”). Here in Versailles, one room was closed and several other bits I was excited about just wouldn’t “read” well for TV.  And we decided to add the queen’s wing and follow the war room with the peace room so we could end on a more positive message. Here’s what we wrote and filmed that wasn’t originally in the plan, but made our coverage of Versailles much better for the eye (and more meaningful, as well):

[on camera] Versailles was home to a hundred years of queens. They had their own quarters and, while their kings were out making war and having affairs, their wives pursued their own passions — from philosophy to music.

This room, where 19 princes were born, was decorated by Marie-Antoinette and looks just as it did in the days of the last queen.

Louis ruled from 1643 to 1715. By the end, he was tired of fighting. Here, in the Peace Room, peace is granted to Germany, Holland, and Spain, as cupids play with discarded weapons and swords are pounded into violins. Louis bestows an olive branch on Europe as his queen cradles their baby twin daughters.

[on camera] At the end of his long reign, Louis, having exhausted France with his many wars, gave this advice to his great-grandson, the next Louis: “Be a peaceful king.”

Shuffling through Europe’s most crowded palace on one of the most crowded days of the year (a Sunday in July), I was struck by the cameras, groups, iPads, humidity, and exhaustion on people’s faces. In spite of the crush, you can feel the gasps of excitement when the long train of royal staterooms reaches the Hall of Mirrors. I was moved to struggle upstream. This video clip shares an experience I’ll never forget. What is your worst crowd experience at a great sight in Europe?

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

I’m spending a couple of weeks in the area around Paris to make two TV shows on the great palaces and châteaux of the region. Most of these castles are run like businesses, and need a certain amount of visitors to stay in the black. Versailles is the dominant attraction in the area, drawing a flood of visitors every day while nearby palaces struggle to get a crowd.

Visiting Versailles on a weekend in midsummer comes with the worst possible crowds. A steady crush of visitors shuffle through the hot and muggy one-way route, as if enduring some horrible punishment. The magnificent Hall of Mirrors is the payoff, and even with a mossy carpet of tourist heads, it’s a thrill to see.

Most great sights in Europe are closed one day a week to the public. But that doesn’t mean they take the day off. That’s the day the furniture is dusted, paintings are moved around, elite visitors and their entourages are given private tours, and film crews (like us) are busy doing their work. We filmed on Sunday to show the reality — a palace packed with tourists. And then we came back on Monday (when it’s closed) to shoot all the details of the furniture, paintings, and my “on cameras.” Being in the Hall of Mirrors with a mob is good. Being there all alone hits you much deeper. Even if you don’t have VIP film crew access, you can still have the Hall of Mirrors (almost) all to yourself: Just visit midweek, during the last hour of the day.

I am so proud of our France guidebook. Being in France, I’m meeting happy travelers with the book everywhere I go. And it’s the labor of love of my co-author, Steve Smith. Steve joined us as part of our TV crew. He’s our fixer (he arranged the permissions for our big camera), our guide, our driver, and my on-camera sidekick as we produce these France shows. And, an expert at multitasking, whenever there’s down time on the TV production end, Steve is busy updating the details of our guidebook. While we worked for five hours in an empty Palace of Versailles, Steve was on call, online, on the phone, and on his laptop.